British actor Terence Stamp passed away on August 17th. He was 87 years old. Stamp had a prolific, acclaimed career in film beginning in the early 1960s. Although, like most of my generation (I was born in 1976), I was really much more familiar with his later work.
Stamp’s early career in the 1960s saw him as a leading man, though by the end of the decade work had unexpectedly dried up. Dispirited, he traveled the world for the time, eventually landing in India, where he spent several years. It was there in 1976 that he received a telegram that he described as a life-changing experience. It was an offer to play the role of the villainous General Zod in the first two Superman movies, directed by Richard Donner.
As a longtime superhero fan, I have often had mixed feelings about Superman and Superman II. But I definitely regard Stamp’s portrayal of the authoritarian Zod as one of the highlights of those two ambitious yet flawed movies. I’ve always regarded Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor as just too slight & comedic to truly be a threat to Christopher Reeve’s Superman. In contrast, Stamp’s Zod, with his icy stare, deep voice & commanding presence, was a truly menacing figure.
Prior to the first two Superman movies, General Zod had been a minor figure in the comic books. It was Stamp’s portrayal of Zod that made the villain a cultural icon, and it’s not at all surprising that the comic book version was eventually revamped to match his cinematic counterpart.
In an interview with The Guardian in 2015, Stamp reflected on the revitalization of his career courtesy of the Superman movies:
“During that time away from the screen, I had transmuted myself. I no longer saw myself as a leading man. What had happened inside of me enabled me to take the role, and not feel embarrassed or depressed about playing the villain. I just decided I was a character actor now and I can do anything.”
Following on from Superman and Superman II, Stamp would work regularly for the next four decades.
Among the later roles in Stamp’s career, a few stand out for me. In 1994 he portrayed sardonic middle aged transgender woman Bernadette Bassenger in Stephan Elliott’s road comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. It was a role that Stamp was initially hesitant to accept. As he explained in 2013:
“I was incredibly frightened about it – it’s not anything I have ever done, but I happened to be having an afternoon tea with a fellow actress who was a very wise woman, and she was flicking through my script and told me to do it. She said this isn’t a career move, it’s a growth move.”
In 1999 Stamp appeared in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as Chancellor Valorum. Now, unlike some people, I actually enjoyed the Star Wars prequels. However, I do have a few criticisms of them, and one of my main ones concerns Valorum. The character really has nothing to do, and Stamp is wasted in the role. I found it mystifying that George Lucas would cast an actor of Stamp’s stature & gravitas in such a minor part. Whatever the case, Stamp did not enjoy working with Lucas, and described the whole experience as “boring.”
Fortunately for Stamp, he appeared in a much better role in that same year. In Steven Soderbergh’s crime drama The Limey, Stamp portrayed Wilson, a working class English ex-con who travels to Los Angeles to investigate the mysterious death of his daughter. Stamp invested Wilson with intensity & menace, yet also gave the character a somber, introspective side. It’s one of my favorite performances by the actor, and The Limey is generally regarded as one of the best movies of his career.
Stamp continued to work until 2021. His final film was Last Night in Soho, directed by Edgar Wright. In a tribute to Stamp, Wright stated on Instagram:
“Terence was a true movie star: the camera loved him, and he loved it right back.”
In My Not So Humble Opinion 