\n\t\t\t\t\tBritish actor Terence Stamp, best known for Superman, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, has died.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
British actor Terence Stamp, best known for Superman, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, has died, aged 87.<\/p>\n
He died on Sunday morning but the cause of death has not been isclosed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe 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,\u201d his family said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Stamp was born in London\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
He shared a flat with a young Michael Caine, and landed the lead role in director Peter Ustinov\u2019s 1962 adaptation of Billy Budd. It earned him an Academy Award nomination.<\/p>\n
He would go on to feature in Far From the Madding Crowd, Pier Paolo Pasolini\u2019s Teorema, A Season in Hell, Poor Cow, Modesty Blaise.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He said of playing Bernadette in Priscilla, \u201cIt was only when I got there, and got through the fear, that it became one of the great experiences of my whole career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other films included Valkyrie, The Adjustment Bureau, Star Wars: Episode I \u2013 The Phantom Menace, Get Smart, The Art of the Steal, Red Planet, Kiss the Sky and his final role in Last Night in Soho.<\/p>\n
His most prolific TV role was 23 episodes of Smallville playing Jor-El. He also appeared in His Dark Materials.<\/p>\n
Once asked how he got film directors to believe in his talent, Stamp said: \u201cI believed in myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cOriginally, when I didn\u2019t get cast I told myself there was a lack of discernment in them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis could be considered conceit. I look at it differently. Cherishing that divine spark in myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Priscilla Queen of the Desert will screen tonight on 9GO! at 8:30pm.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Language.<\/p>\n