Terence Stamp

Terence Stamp

Terence Stamp, January 2009
Born Terence Henry Stamp
22 July 1939 (1939-07-22) (age 71)
Stepney, London, England, UK
Occupation Actor
Years active 1962–present
Spouse Elizabeth O'Rourke (2002–2008)

Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1939)[1] is an English actor who has appeared in 63 films. He has had great commercial success in memorable roles such as young Billy Budd in Billy Budd (1962), butterfly collector Freddie Clegg in The Collector (1965), the strange visitor in Theorem (1968), second arch-villain General Zod in Superman (1978) (plus its 1980 sequel), the transgendered drag queen Bernadette in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), Wilson in The Limey (1999), the Supreme Chancellor Valorum in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), antagonist ghost Ramsley in The Haunted Mansion (2003), Elektra's master Stick in Elektra (2005), Cross friend Pekwarsky in Wanted (2008), arch-villain Siegfried in Get Smart (2008), the yes program council Terrence Bundley in Yes Man (2008) and the member of the 20 July plot General Ludwig Beck in Valkyrie (2008).

Stamp has won two Golden Globes, two BAFTA Awards, a Chlotrudis Award, an Independent Spirit Award, an Australian Film Institute Award, a Seattle International Film Festival Award, a Satellite Award, a Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award and a Cannes Film Festival award.

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Early life

Stamp, the eldest of five children, was born in Stepney, London in 1939, the son of Ethel Esther (née Perrott) and Thomas Stamp, who was a tugboat captain.[1][2] His early years were spent in Canal Road, Bow,[3] in the East End of London,[4] but later in his childhood the family moved to Plaistow, Essex (now Greater London). His brother, Chris, is a rock 'n roll impresario credited with helping to bring The Who to prominence during the 1960s. As his father was away for long periods with his job in the Merchant Navy, the young Stamp was mostly raised by his mother, grandmother, and aunts. He grew up idolizing the film actor Gary Cooper after his mother had taken him to see Beau Geste at the age of three. He was also inspired by James Dean.

On leaving school Stamp worked in a variety of advertising agencies in London, working his way up to a very respectable wage. In the mid 1950s, he also worked for a time as an assistant to the professional golfer, Reg Knight, at Wanstead Golf Club in east London. He describes this period of his life very positively in his autobiography (Stamp, 1987).

Deep down he wanted to be an actor, a realisation that came when Stamp found he no longer had to serve two years National Service after being rejected for once having treatment on his feet.

Career

Stamp in 1973, by Allan Warren.

Stamp made his film debut in Peter Ustinov's film adaptation of Herman Melville's Billy Budd (1962). His portrayal of the title character brought him not only an Academy Award nomination, but also international attention. He then appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in Term of Trial (1962).

Stamp collaborated with some of the cinema's most revered filmmakers. He starred in William Wyler's adaptation of John Fowles' The Collector (1965), opposite Samantha Eggar, and in Modesty Blaise (1966), for director Joseph Losey and producer Joe Janni. Stamp reunited with producer Janni for two more projects: John Schlesinger's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd (1967) starring Julie Christie, and Ken Loach's first feature film Poor Cow (1967).

Stamp then journeyed to Italy to star in Federico Fellini's Toby Dammit, a 50-minute portion of the Edgar Allan Poe film adaptation Histoires extraordinaires (1968, aka Spirits of the Dead). Stamp lived in Italy for several years, during which time his film work included Pier Paolo Pasolini's Teorema (1968) opposite Silvana Mangano, and Una Stagione all'inferno (1970). Stamp was considered for the title role of Alfie (1966), but turned it down in favour of Scraps the Rabbit (1966).

His subsequent film credits included Alan Cooke's The Mind of Mr. Soames (1970), Peter Brook's Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979), Stephen Frears' The Hit (1984). Also in 1984, he had the opportunity to play the Devil in a cameo in The Company of Wolves. He also starred in Richard Franklin's Link (1986), Ivan Reitman's Legal Eagles (1986), Michael Cimino's The Sicilian (1987), and Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987). The film Beltenebros (1992, aka Prince of Shadows), in which Stamp starred for director Pilar Miro, was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. Stamp began his fourth decade as an actor wearing some of the choicest of Lizzy Gardiner's Academy Award-winning costumes for the comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) for director Stefan Elliot and starring with Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving.

In 1999, Stamp played a lead role in Steven Soderbergh's The Limey, to widespread critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival. For his performance, Stamp received nominations for Best Male Lead at the 2000 Independent Spirit Awards, and for Best British Actor at the London Film Critic Circle (ALFS) Awards. Stamp can also be seen in George Lucas' global blockbuster Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) as Chancellor Finis Valorum; Frank Oz's Bowfinger (1999) with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy; and Red Planet (2000) with Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore.

In recent years, Stamp has completed the features Ma femme est une actrice (2001, aka My Wife Is An Actress) for Timothy Burrill Productions; My Boss's Daughter (2003) with Ashton Kutcher; Disney's The Haunted Mansion (2003), opposite Eddie Murphy, and Elektra (2005), with Jennifer Garner. He also starred in the recent Get Smart movie adaptation and with Tom Cruise in Valkyrie.

Superman roles

Stamp portrayed Kryptonian supervillain General Zod in Richard Donner's Superman (1978). Stamp went on to reprise his role as General Zod in the sequel, Superman II (1980), directed by Richard Lester. In 2003, Stamp returned to the Superman mythos in a new role, by portraying the voice of Clark Kent's biological father Jor-El in the WB/CW television series Smallville. He also provided the scream of Zod (being exorcised from the body of Lex Luthor) in the sixth season premiere episode "Zod". In 2006, he appeared as Zod once again in Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (a re-tooled version of the film which predominantly features footage shot by Donner, the original director).

Other

In addition to his acting career, Stamp is an accomplished writer and author. He has published three volumes of his memoirs, including Stamp Album (written in tribute to his late mother), a novel entitled The Night, and a cookbook co-written with Elizabeth Buxton to provide alternative recipes for those who are wheat and dairy-intolerant.

Stamp's recent projects include the video game Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, in which he lends his voice to the villainous cult leader Mankar Camoran; and the films Zombie Island and These Foolish Things. Stamp appeared in the music video for "At the Bottom of Everything" by Bright Eyes. Stamp has recently voiced the Prophet of Truth in Halo 3, replacing Michael Wincott. He next appeared as the villain in the film adaptation of Get Smart starring Steve Carell.

On 7 July 2007, Stamp gave a speech on Climate Change at the UK leg of Live Earth in Wembley Stadium, before introducing Madonna.

Personal life

In the 1960s, Stamp shared a flat with Michael Caine before and during their rise to fame.[5] In his autobiography, What's it All About, Caine states that he "still wakes up sweating in the night as he sees Terence agreeing to accept my advice to take the role in Alfie".

Stamp received extensive media coverage of his romances in the 1960s with film stars Julie Christie, Brigitte Bardot, and supermodel Jean Shrimpton. His and Julie Christie's romance, and their high profiles during London's 'swinging 60s', was at one point thought to be referenced in The Kinks' 1967 song, "Waterloo Sunset", with the lines about "Terry and Julie". He and Jean Shrimpton were one of the most photographed couples of Mod London. It was after Shrimpton ended her relationship with Stamp that he moved to India, spending time in Pune at the ashram, meditating and studying the teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, dropping out from society for several years.[6][7][8]

On New Year's Eve 2002, at the age of 63, Stamp married for the first time. His 29-year-old bride was Elizabeth O'Rourke, whom Stamp first met during the mid-1990s at a pharmacy in Bondi, New South Wales. A Eurasian of Australian and Singapore Chinese parentage, Elizabeth was raised in Singapore before moving to Australia in her early 20s to study pharmacology. The couple divorced on the grounds of his unreasonable behaviour in April 2008.[9]

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1962 Billy Budd Billy Budd – Merchant seaman Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer
Term of Trial Mitchell
1965 The Collector Freddie Clegg Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)
1966 Modesty Blaise Willie Garvin
1967 Poor Cow Dave Fuller
Far from the Madding Crowd Sgt. Francis 'Frank' Troy
1968 Histoires extraordinaires Toby Dammit segment "Toby Dammit"
Theorem The Visitor
Blue Blue
1970 Una stagione all'inferno Arthur Rimbaud
The Mind of Mr. Soames John Soames
1975 Hu-Man Terence
The Divine Nymph Dany di Bagnasco
1976 Striptease Alain
1977 Black Out Edgar Poe
1978 The Thief of Baghdad Wazir Jaudur TV
Superman General Zod
1979 Meetings with Remarkable Men Prince Lubovedsky
1980 Superman II General Zod
1981 Jules Verne's Mystery on Monster Island Taskinar/Skinner
1982 Morte in Vaticano Padre Andreani, poi Papa Giovanni Clemente I
1984 The Hit Willie Parker
The Company of Wolves The Devil (uncredited)
1986 The Cold War Killers David Audley TV
Legal Eagles Victor Taft
Link Dr. Steven Phillip
Hud Edward
1987 The Sicilian Prince Borsa
Wall Street Sir Larry Wildman
1988 Young Guns John Tunstall
Alien Nation William Harcourt
1990 Genuine Risk Paul Hellwart
1991 Beltenebros Darman
1993 The Real McCoy Jack Schmidt
1994 The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Bernadette Seattle International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated — Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1996 Limited Edition Edward Lamb (Tiré à Part)
1997 Love Walked In Fred Moore
Bliss Baltazar
The Hunger Host TV
1999 The Limey Wilson Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
Nominated — Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Supreme Chancellor Valorum
Bowfinger Terry Stricter
Kiss the Sky Kozen
2000 Red Planet Dr. Bud Chantilas
2001 Revelation Magnus Martel
2002 Full Frontal Man on Plane/Himself
Fellini: I'm a Born Liar Himself/Toby Dammit
2003–present Smallville Jor-El and the scream of General Zod TV series
2003 My Boss's Daughter Jack Taylor
The Kiss Philip Naudet
The Haunted Mansion Ramsley
2004 Dead Fish Samuel Fish
2005 Elektra Stick
These Foolish Things Baker
2006 Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut General Zod
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Mankar Camoran (voice)
2007 September Dawn Brigham Young
Halo 3 Prophet of Truth (voice)
2008 Wanted Pekwarsky
Flowers and Weeds Storyteller
Get Smart Siegfried
Yes Man Terrence Bundley
Valkyrie Ludwig Beck
2010 Ultramarines:The Movie Severus

Awards

Stamp found success with his first film Billy Budd (1962), for which we won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer. Stamp won recognition for the film The Collector (1965), which is commemorated in Cannes Film Festival.

For The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) Stamp won a Seattle International Film Festival for Best Actor and was nominated for the Best Actor in a Leading Role, an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, a Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor. For The Limey (1999) he won a Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead and Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor.

Won

Golden Globe

Cannes Film Festival

Seattle International Film Festival

Satellite Award

Nominated

Academy Award

BAFTA Award

Australian Film Institute Award

Chlotrudis Award

Independent Spirit Award

Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award

[10]==References==

External links