Terence Stamp, the celebrated British actor known for his striking presence and association with the cultural revolution of 1960s London, has passed away at the age of 87, his family confirmed.
Stamp rose to fame with his breakout role in the 1962 film Billy Budd, directed by Peter Ustinov. His portrayal in the drama earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor — the only Oscar nod of his distinguished career.
Throughout the 1960s, Stamp became a fixture in high-profile films such as Far From the Madding Crowd, a John Schlesinger adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel, and Poor Cow, the debut feature film by Ken Loach.
Born on July 22, 1938, in London’s East End to parents Ethel and Thomas Stamp, a merchant seaman, he emerged from modest beginnings. In a 2013 interview with the British Film Institute, Stamp recalled that his father had reservations about his ambitions in show business. “He genuinely believed that people like us didn’t do things like that,” Stamp said. However, he noted that his mother quietly supported his dream. “She loved every second of it,” he added.
Stamp’s personal life also attracted attention during the height of his fame. He was romantically linked with some of the most prominent women of the era, including model Jean Shrimpton and actresses Julie Christie—his co-star in Far From the Madding Crowd—and Brigitte Bardot.
Although he married only once, in 2002, to an Australian pharmacist 35 years younger than him, the union ended six years later.
Stamp once shared a London flat with fellow rising star Michael Caine. Despite their early friendship, the two eventually drifted apart. In a 2015 interview, Stamp remarked, “We just went different ways. I can understand it: in many ways he was much more mature than me.”
He returned to mainstream prominence in the late 1970s by portraying the villainous General Zod in Superman (1978), a role he reprised in the 1980 sequel. Interestingly, years later, he voiced Superman’s father, Jor-El, in the popular TV series Smallville.
Among Stamp’s other notable roles was his performance as Bernadette, a transgender woman and former drag queen, in the cult hit The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). His filmography also includes appearances in Wall Street, The Limey, and The Adjustment Bureau, showcasing a diverse and unpredictable career.
Reflecting on his life in film during an interview, Stamp admitted he had no long-term plan or ambition beyond doing work that mattered. “I’ve done crap, because sometimes I didn’t have the rent,” he said candidly. “But when I’ve got the rent, I want to do the best I can.”
Stamp’s career spanned more than six decades, marked by both mainstream success and independent acclaim, and he remained a magnetic presence on screen until the end.
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