Terence Stamp trained at the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts
in London and initially worked as a stage manager with various repertory
companies. He earned a supporting actor Oscar nomination on his film
debut as the martyred hero in Peter Ustinov's adaptation of Billy
Budd (1962). He went on to appear in several major productions,
such as the uncouth student in Term
of Trial (1962), the maladjusted kidnapper in William Wyler's The
Collector (1965) and debonair Sergeant Troy in John Schlesinger’s
adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Far
From the Madding Crowd (1967). As the decade grew to a close the
absorbing film roles were drying up and Stamp had been replaced by David
Hemmings for the lead role in Blow Up (1966). Stamp had been an
icon of the Swinging Sixties but after his affair with supermodel Jean
Shrimpton ended, an insecure and melancholic Stamp went on a 10-year
sabbatical to India and spent the majority of the next decade in relative
obscurity.
He returned to the screen in the late 70s as the indomitable General
Zod in Superman (1978), a role he reprised in Superman II (1980). Later
films included a masterly performance as the Cockney supergrass in Stephen
Frears The Hit
(1984) and Company of Wolves (1984). Big budget mainstream Hollywood
roles followed in Legal Eagles (1986), Wall Street (1987) and Young
Guns (1988). Stamp returned to greater public notice as the world-weary
drag queen in sleeper hit The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the
Desert (1994). His role of a vengeful ex-con in Steven Soderbergh's
The Limey (1999) was specifically written for him and included footage
of Stamp from the 1968 film Poor
Cow. Subsequent appearances included a new age guru in Bowfinger
(1999), cast opposite Val Kilmer in the sci-fi thriller Red Planet (2000)
and Disney comedy The Haunted Mansion (2003).
