Legendary British actor Terrence Stamp, best known for his chilling role as General Zod in the early Superman films, has passed away at the age of 87, leaving behind a remarkable legacy in cinema.
British actor Terence Stamp attends the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2012. Stamp died Sunday at 87. (Sonia Recchia/Getty Images)
Terence Stamp, the distinguished British actor renowned for his portrayals of complex characters — most memorably General Zod in the early Superman films — has died at the age of 87.
His passing on Sunday was announced in an online death notice.
Born in London, Stamp launched his career with the 1962 seafaring drama Billy Budd, earning an Academy Award nomination for his debut performance. Over six decades, he built a diverse body of work, from his celebrated role as Bernadette, a trans woman, in 1994’s The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, to his acclaimed turn in Steven Soderbergh’s 1999 crime drama The Limey.
Still, it was his commanding portrayal of the bearded Kryptonian villain General Zod in 1978’s Superman and its sequel Superman II that cemented his place in popular culture. As the formidable adversary to Christopher Reeve’s Man of Steel, Stamp brought a darker, more charismatic edge to the superhero genre — one that has influenced countless films ever since.
Stamp launched his film career in the early 1960s amid Britain’s “angry young men” movement, which brought a new wave of social realism to the screen. One of his most striking early roles came in the 1965 adaptation of John Fowles’s unsettling debut novel The Collector. In it, he portrayed the socially awkward Freddie Clegg, a lonely young man who kidnaps Samantha Eggar’s Miranda Grey in a twisted bid for affection. The performance, coming just after his Oscar-nominated debut, won Stamp the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival that year.
During this formative period, Stamp also absorbed lessons from veterans of the classical stage. He worked briefly with Laurence Olivier on his second film, 1962’s Term of Trial. Reflecting on the experience in a 2013 interview with the Associated Press, Stamp recalled Olivier’s advice: “You should always study your voice. Because, as you get older, your looks go, but your voice will become empowered.” Stamp, slipping into a flawless Olivier impression, delivered the line with the same gravitas that had inspired him decades earlier.
Stamp, left, with American singer and entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. at a hotel in London in April 1963. During the 1960s, Stamp was part of British cinema’s ‘angry young men’ movement. (Reg Lancaster/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Born in London’s East End on July 22, 1938, Stamp lived a colourful life, particularly during the 1960s when he had a string of romances, including with actress Julie Christie and model Jean Shrimpton. He married 29-year-old Elizabeth O’Rourke in 2002 at the age of 64 but the couple divorced six years later. Stamp did not have any children.
He generally sought to keep his standards high, but up to a point.
“I don’t do crappy movies, unless I haven’t got the rent,” he said.