Priscilla, Queen Of the Desert & Superman II Star Terence Stamp Passes Away

Terence Stamp, the acting legend who starred in such films as Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Superman II, has passed away. Stamp’s family confirmed to Reuters that the Oscar-nominated actor passed away on Sunday. He was 87 years old.

“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 in a statement. “We ask for privacy at this sad time.”

Stamp amassed 99 credits in his career in films like Billy Budd, Valkyrie, Far from the Madding Crowd, Wall Street, and Young Guns. He was known for his brooding looks at his gravitas as a performer, delivering a varied set of performances that ranged from an English criminal investigating his daughter’s death in The Limey to Supreme Chancellor Valorum in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

Born the eldest of five children, Stamp was bit by the acting bug at an early age when he saw Gary Cooper in Beau Geste. He began work outside the industry at an advertising agency and as an assistant to pro golfer Reg Knight before he won a scholarship to train at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He lived with Michael Caine early on and made a splash in his film debut in the title role of 1962’s Billy Budd, a performance for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

That performance put a rocket on Stamp, who went on to co-star with Laurence Olivier in Term of Trial the same year. He worked regularly from there, starring in films like Madding Crowd and William Wyler’s The Collector. He was approached to play James Bond after Sean Connery retired but said afterward that producer Harry Saltzman didn’t call him back because he frightened Saltzman off about how the role should be played.

After failing to land 007, Stamp worked in Italy with the likes of Frederico Fellini in Spirits of the Dead
and Nelo Risi in 1971’s Nelo Risi. 1978 saw him return to prominence in American theaters with his brief role as General Zod in Superman, which was set up for his primary villain role as the character in Superman II.

That led to a new era of prominence for Stamp in the 1980s, who appeared in such films as Wall Street as British investor Larry Wildman, Legal Eagles as curator Victor Taft, Young Guns as Irish rancher (and Billy the Kid mentor) John Tunstall, and Alien Nation as the villainous William Harcourt.

1992 saw one of Stamp’s most beloved performance in the trailblazing role as trans woman Bernadette Bassenger in the Australian drag road comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Stamp starred opposite Hugo Weaving and Guy Pierce in the film, which became a cult classic and a cultural landmark. There was talk of a sequel coming together last year with all three cast members intended to reprise their roles.

Stamp continued to work throughout his life and appeared in the likes of 2008’s Get Smart and Yes Man, 2011’s The Adjustment Bureau and 2014’s Big Eyes and 2016’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, the latter two for director Tim Burton. His final film role was in 2021 as a questionable gentleman in Edgar Wright’s psychological horror film Last Night in Soho.

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends and many fans of Mr. Stamp. He will most definitely be missed.