British actor Terence Stamp, best known for Superman, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, has died.
British actor Terence Stamp, best known for Superman, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, has died, aged 87.
He died on Sunday morning but the cause of death has not been isclosed.
“He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come,” his family said in a statement.
Stamp was born in London’s East End in 1938, into a poor family, but worked as a messenger boy for an advertising firm before he won a scholarship to go to drama school.
He shared a flat with a young Michael Caine, and landed the lead role in director Peter Ustinov’s 1962 adaptation of Billy Budd. It earned him an Academy Award nomination.
He would go on to feature in Far From the Madding Crowd, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Teorema, A Season in Hell, Poor Cow, Modesty Blaise.
After landing the role of General Zod, leader of the Kryptonians, in Superman in 1978 and its sequel, he went on to appear in a string of other films, including in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
He said of playing Bernadette in Priscilla, “It was only when I got there, and got through the fear, that it became one of the great experiences of my whole career.”
Other films included Valkyrie, The Adjustment Bureau, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Get Smart, The Art of the Steal, Red Planet, Kiss the Sky and his final role in Last Night in Soho.
His most prolific TV role was 23 episodes of Smallville playing Jor-El. He also appeared in His Dark Materials.
Once asked how he got film directors to believe in his talent, Stamp said: “I believed in myself.
“Originally, when I didn’t get cast I told myself there was a lack of discernment in them.
“This could be considered conceit. I look at it differently. Cherishing that divine spark in myself.”
Priscilla Queen of the Desert will screen tonight on 9GO! at 8:30pm.
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Source: ABC