Terence Stamp, best known for his roles in The Limey and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, as well as villains like General Zod in the Superman films, has passed away at the age of 87.
Stamp was born in London on July 22, 1938, and spent the first years of his life enduring Nazi Germany’s bombing campaign of the United Kingdom, also known as the Blitz. He worked a number of different jobs in advertising after school, and won a scholarship to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. During this time, he moved in with Michael Caine, and the two hung out with actor Peter O’Toole and spent time in the London party scene.
Stamp’s first film role was in a film adaptation of Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, in which he played the titular character and earned nominations for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA award for his work. He worked alongside actors like Laurence Olivier in the years to follow and was even approached to replace Sean Connery in the role of James Bond. According to Stamp, though, “my ideas about [how the role should be portrayed] put the frighteners on Harry [Saltzman, producers of the James Bond films for many years],” and he never got a call back.
Among his best known and most successful roles is that of Superman villain General Zod, which he played in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980). The Guardian credits Stamp with turning Zod into a sadistic supervillain, with his iconic line, “Kneel before Zod!”
Later, Stamp would return to DC to provide the voice of Jor-El, Superman’s father, in the WB/CW series Smallville.
He’s appeared in a number of other genre films, including the role of Supreme Chancellor Valorum in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace; the critically-panned superhero movie Elektra (2005); the film adaptation of Mark Millar’s assassin fantasy Wanted (2008); and The Adjustment Bureau, the adaptation of the Philip K. Dick’s story “Adjustment Team.” He also played a role in the Tom Cruise World War II film Valkyrie, about a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, and also acted as a consultant for a bombing scene because of his real-life experience during the Blitz.
Stamp never officially retired from acting, having appeared most recently in the film Last Night in Soho (2021) and in an episode of His Dark Materials (2020).
