ALBAWABA - The English actor Terence Stamp has died at the age of 87. He played General Zod in the Superman movies.
The actor who was considered for an Oscar was in over sixty movies, such as The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Far From the Madding Crowd, and Valkyrie.
In a message to Reuters, Stamp's family said that he died early Sunday morning.
"He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and a writer, that will continue to touch people for years to come," they noted.
Stamp was born on July 22, 1938, in Stepney, east London, to working-class parents. He went to high school before becoming an advertising executive.
He became famous in the 1960s after getting a scholarship to go to drama school. In the 1962 film about a young sailor in the eighteenth century, he played Billy Budd.
He was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor and won a Golden Globe for best rookie for his role.
He became famous as the arch-villain, with roles like General Zod in Superman and Superman II, thief Freddie Clegg in The Collector, and Sergeant Troy in Far From the Madding Crowd.
In the 1960s, Stamp was at the top of his game. He was praised for his good looks, fashion sense, and famous girlfriends, such as supermodel Jean Shrimpton and actress Julie Christie, whom he later appeared with in Far From the Madding Crowd.
That he was dating Christie only lasted a year, but the Kinks made a song about them called Waterloo Sunset, and the line "Terry meets Julie" is thought to be a reference to them.
Stamp was asked to take over for Sean Connery as James Bond when he quit, but he turned down the offer because of his extreme ideas about how he should play the part, according to director Harry Saltzman.
"I believe my thoughts about the role intimidated Harry," he confided in me. "I didn't get a second call from him."
He worked with directors Pier Paolo Pasolini and Federico Fellini while he was in Italy, but when he came back to London at the end of the 1960s, he found that his fame had faded.
He later said on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, "When the 1960s ended, I think because I'd been so into it, I kind of ended as well."
"I thought that everything would be fine if I were really pretty, successful, and well-known." I thought to myself, "It's been fun, but there hasn't been any real, deep internal satisfaction."
After taking a break from acting for a while, he bought a ticket around the world and ended up in India, where he studied yoga and lived in a spiritual retreat. In 1976, he received his most renowned role as General Zod in Superman.
British actor Terence Stamp (Photo by VALERY HACHE / AFP)
After going back to movies, he was in many movies over the next few decades, such as Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace, A Song for Marion, The Adjustment Bureau, and Last Night in Soho.
In the 1994 Australian movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, he played a transgender woman, which was one of his most famous and praised roles.
The movie's director revealed last year that Stamp was interested in returning for a Priscilla sequel.
Stamp, who was 85 years old at the time, was called the "fittest man I've ever met in my life" by Elliott. Stamp "has never drunk and basically eats grass."
"He thought about it for a long time until he got there," he told The Guardian. "Then he told me, 'You know what? That's right. We're still not done. The story hasn't been told.'"
