Early life

Stamp, the oldest of five children, was born in Stepney, London, England, the son of Ethel Esther (née Perrott) and Thomas Stamp, who was a tugboat stoker. His early years were spent in Canal Road, Bow, in the East End, but later in his childhood the family moved to Plaistow, West Ham, London, where he attended Plaistow County Grammar School. His father was away for long periods with the Merchant Navy and the young Stamp was mostly brought up by his mother, grandmother and aunts. He grew up idolising actor Gary Cooper after his mother took him to see Beau Geste (1939) when he was three years old. He was also inspired by the 1950s avant-garde method-trained actor James Dean.

After 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 as an assistant to professional golfer Reg Knight at Wanstead Golf Club in east London. He describes this period of his life very positively in his 1988 autobiography Stamp Album. 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 having had treatment on his feet.

Career

Early career and rise to fame

Stamp won a scholarship to train at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, then performed in various provincial repertory theatres, most notably in a national tour of Willis Hall’s play The Long the Short and the Tall alongside another young actor Michael Caine.

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 film'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).

He was approached to play the role of James Bond when Sean Connery retired from the role, but did not receive a second call from producer Harry Saltzman because, in Stamp's opinion, 'my ideas about put the frighteners on Harry. I didn’t get a second call from him'.

Stamp then travelled 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 Modesty Blaise (1966).

His subsequent film credits included The Mind of Mr. Soames (1970), Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979), and The Hit (1984), which won a Mystfest Award for Best Actor, shared with John Hurt and Tim Roth. Also in 1984, he had the opportunity to play the Devil in a cameo in The Company of Wolves. He also appeared in Link (1986), Legal Eagles (1986), The Sicilian (1987) and a gleaming cameo as Sir Larry Wildman in Wall Street (1987). His film Beltenebros (1992) (aka Prince of Shadows), was awarded the Silver Bear at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival. Stamp began his fourth decade as an actor wearing some of the choicest of Tim Chappel's Academy Award-winning costumes for the comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) which co-starred Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving.

In 1999, Stamp played a lead role in 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 Critics' Circle (ALFS) Awards. Also in 1999, Stamp appeared in the blockbuster Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as Chancellor Finis Valorum (an experience he later described as 'boring'), followed by Bowfinger (1999) and Red Planet (2000). He also appeared in Damian Pettigrew's award-winning documentary, Fellini: I'm a Born Liar (2002), offering ideas into the mind and working methods of Italian director Federico Fellini whom Stamp had worked with in the 1960s.

Superman roles

Stamp portrayed the Kryptonian supervillain General Zod in Richard Donner's Superman (1978), in which he appeared in a scene with Marlon Brando. The film and its first sequel were originally conceived as one film, with Zod and his evil conspirators returning later in the film to challenge Superman, but the screenplay was so long that the producers elected to split it into two parts. Both parts began shooting simultaneously, but production on the sequel was halted partway through due to budget and time constraints. Stamp reappeared as General Zod in the second part, Superman II (1980), as the movie's primary villain. Donner was replaced as director on the sequel with Richard Lester, who completed the film using portions of Donner's original footage combined with newly filmed scenes.

On the occasion of Superman's fiftieth anniversary in 1988, Stamp introduced the BBC Radio special Superman On Trial, which was produced by Dirk Maggs and starred Stuart Milligan as Superman.

In 2003, Stamp returned to the Superman franchise 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 retooled version of the 1980 film which predominantly features footage shot by Donner, the film's original director).

Recent years

In recent years, Stamp has appeared in the films Ma femme est une actrice (aka My Wife Is An Actress, 2001), My Boss's Daughter (2003), Disney's The Haunted Mansion (2003), and the superhero fantasy Elektra (2005). In 2008, he appeared in the film remake of the spy comedy Get Smart; another comedy about the man who says yes to everything Yes Man, opposite Jim Carrey; with Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman in Wanted; and with Tom Cruise in Valkyrie, based on the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg's failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

Entering in the 2010s, Stamp appeared in The Adjustment Bureau (2011), an American romantic science fiction thriller film loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story, "Adjustment Team", opposite Matt Damon. In 2012, Stamp appeared in the Peter Serafinowicz-directed music video for the Hot Chip song "Night & Day", portrayed a grumpy husband called Arthur in Paul Andrew Williams' Song for Marion (2012), opposite Gemma Arterton and a heist comedy The Art of the Steal (2013), with Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon and Jay Baruchel.

In 2014, Stamp appeared in Tim Burton's drama film Big Eyes, with Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz, and George Mendeluk's drama film The Devil's Harvest, opposite Max Irons, Samantha Barks, Barry Pepper, and Aneurin Barnard.

Books, music videos and voice acting

In addition to his acting career, Terence 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 The 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 voiced the Prophet of Truth in Halo 3, replacing Michael Wincott. In 2005, Stamp also narrated the BBC Four documentary Jazz Britannia, which chronicles the evolution of British jazz music.

Stamp read the book Perfect Brilliant Stillness by David Carse for SilkSoundBooks. In his introductory reading, Stamp describes his love for this book by saying, "Greater love hath no man". Stamp appeared in the music video for "At the Bottom of Everything" by Bright Eyes.

Stamp appeared as the featured 'castaway' on BBC Radio's long-running Desert Island Discs in June 1987, and made a second appearance in March 2006 with a different selection of music.

On 7 July 2007, Stamp gave a speech on climate change at the British leg of Live Earth in Wembley Stadium before introducing Madonna.

Personal life

In the 1960s, Stamp shared a house with actor Michael Caine before and during their rise to fame. 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 star Julie Christie and supermodel Jean Shrimpton. His romance with Christie during London's "Swinging '60s" was thought to be referenced in The Kinks' 1967 song "Waterloo Sunset", with the lines about "Terry and Julie". He and 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 of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, meditating and studying his teachings, and dropping out from society for several years.

Stamp's brother Chris became a rock music impresario credited with helping to bring The Who to prominence during the 1960s and co-founding Track Records.

In 1984, English band The Smiths released their third single, "What Difference Does It Make?". The single cover was a photograph taken on the set of the film The Collector (but not depicted in the actual film). Originally, Stamp refused permission for the still to be used, and some pressings featured lead singer Morrissey in a re-enacted scene. In the re-enactment Morrissey is holding a glass of milk, as opposed to a chloroform pad in the original. Eventually, however, Stamp changed his mind, and the original cover was reinstated.

On New Year's Eve 2002, at age 64, Stamp married for the first time. His 29-year-old bride was Elizabeth O'Rourke, whom Stamp first met in the mid-1990s at a pharmacy in Bondi, New South Wales. A Eurasian of Australian and Singapore (Indian Singaporean) parentage, O'Rourke was brought up in Singapore before moving to Australia in her early twenties to study pharmacology. The couple divorced on the grounds of his "unreasonable behaviour" in April 2008.

Filmography

Year	Film/Television	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	Blue	Blue
	Histoires extraordinaires (Spirits of the Dead)	Toby Dammit
	Teorema	The Visitor
1970	The Mind of Mr. Soames	John Soames
1971	A Season in Hell	Arthur Rimbaud
1975	The Divine Nymph	Dany di Bagnasco
	Hu-man	Terence
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
	Together?	Henry
1980	Superman II	General Zod
1981	Jules Verne's Mystery on Monster Island	Taskinar/Skinner
1982	Morte in Vaticano	Padre Andreani, later Pope Giovanni Clemente I
1984	The Hit	Willie Parker	Mystfest for Best Actor (Shared with John Hurt and Tim Roth)
	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	Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival
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—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role 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 Finis Valorum
	Bowfinger	Terry Stricter
	Kiss the Sky	Kozen
2000	Red Planet	Dr. Bud Chantilas
2001	Revelation	Magnus Martel
	My Wife Is an Actress	John
2001-2002	Static Shock	Dennis/Professor Menace	TV series
2002	Full Frontal	Man on Plane/Himself
	Fellini: I'm a Born Liar	Himself/Toby Dammit
2003-2011	Smallville	Jor-El	TV series, (Voice role only)
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	The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion	Mankar Camoran	Video Game Voice Only
	September Dawn	Brigham Young
	Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut	General Zod
2007	Halo 3	Prophet of Truth	Video Game Voice Only
2008	Wanted	Pekwarsky
	Flowers and Weeds	Storyteller
	Get Smart	Siegfried
	Yes Man	Terrence Bundley
	Valkyrie	Ludwig Beck
2010	Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie	Captain Severus
2011	The Adjustment Bureau	Thompson
2012	"Night & Day"	Himself	Music video for Hot Chip
	Song for Marion	Arthur	Nominated—BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film
2013	The Art of the Steal	Samuel Winter
2014	Big Eyes	John Canaday
	The Devil's Harvest	Ivan	Post-production
2016	Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children	Abraham Portman	Post-production

Awards

Stamp found success with his first film Billy Budd (1962), for which he 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. 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.

Stamp was nominated by a British Independent Film Award for Best Actor in Song for Marion (2012).

Won

Golden Globe

• New Star of the Year - Actor - Billy Budd (1962)

Cannes Film Festival

• Best Actor Award - The Collector (1965)

Mystfest

• Best Actor - The Hit (1984)

Seattle International Film Festival

• Best Actor - The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

Satellite Award

• Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama - The Limey (1999)
• Outstanding Contribution to the Entertainment Industry (2012)

Silver Bear

• Best Actor - Beltenebros (1991)

Beijing International Film Festival Tian Tan Award

• Best Actor - "Song for Marion"(2013)

Nominated

Academy Award

• Best Supporting Actor - Billy Budd (1962)

British Independent Film Awards

• Best Actor—Song for Marion (2012)

Golden Globe

• Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

BAFTA Award

• Best Newcomer - Billy Budd (1962)
• Best Actor in a Leading Role - The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

Australian Film Institute Award

• Best Actor in a Leading Role - The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

Independent Spirit Award

• Best Male Lead - The Limey (1999)

Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award

• Best Actor - The Limey (1999)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]