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British actor Terence Stamp, best known for playing the Kryptonian supervillain in Superman and Superman II, died at the age of 87 on Sunday morning, his family confirmed in a statement.
What Happened to Terence Stamp? Family Release Statement
Stamp's family confirmed the acclaimed actor's death to the Reuters news agency, but with no details of how it happened. The family only wrote their statement via the news outlet:
"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," the family said, "We ask for privacy at this sad time."
Stamp previously played opposite Christopher Reeve in the 1978 film and its 1980 sequel as the iconic General Zod. The 87-year-old landed the role after a decade since he had been nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in the film, Billy Budd.
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While Superman won no award for Stamp, the franchise marked a defining moment in his career. In fact, years later, he managed to voice another Kryptonian on the show, Smallville, except this time as Clark Kent's biological father, Jor-El.
Stamp was born in London's East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat stoker. He grew up in London during World War II, and before he rose to Hollywood fame, he first worked at advertising agencies in the city, where he won a scholarship to attend drama school, the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. And the rest was history.
His career took him to explore playing a transgender woman in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994, a violent 19th-century swordsman in Far From the Madding Crowd, and his last project being Last Night in Soho, which was released in 2021.
In a 2013 interview with the British Film Institute, Stamp revealed that his father tried to keep him away from growing his showbiz career, "He genuinely believed that people like us didn't do things like that," and yet his mother, on the other hand, "loved every second of it."
Terence Stamp's Impact: Old Colleagues Send Their Online Tributes
In the wake of the news, people whom Stamp had worked with in the past sent their tributes online—filmmaker Edgar Wright, legendary Hollywood producer Gale Anne Hurd, and Lou Diamond Phillips, to mention a few.
"Terence was kind, funny, and endlessly fascinating," Wright wrote, "I loved discussing music with him (his brother managed The Who, and he's name-checked in The Kinks' Waterloo Sunset) or reminiscing about his films, going back to his debut in Billy Budd."
Hurd tweeted their own, "Terence Stamp was a brilliant actor. I think he and Peter O'Toole not only had the most mesmerizing eyes ... but delivered equally indelible performances."
"Terribly saddened to hear this," Phillips added, "We were all incredibly privileged to have worked with him on Young Guns. He grounded all of us and truly elevated the filming experience. Such class and artistry. What a kind, beautiful, generous man. RIP."
From the bottom of our hearts, the Epicstream team wishes eternal peace for Terence Stamp.
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