Terence Stamp, U.K. actor who played General Zod in early Superman films, dies at 87

The London-born Stamp started his film career with 1962’s seafaring 'Billy Budd,' for which he earned Oscar and BAFTA award nominations.

Terence Stamp, the British actor who often played the role of a complex villain, including that of General Zod in the early Superman films, has died. He was 87.

His death on Sunday was disclosed in a death notice published online, prompting a wave of tributes from and an array of fans and those close to him within the industry, including the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, or BAFTA.

The London-born Stamp started his film career with 1962’s seafaring Billy Budd, for which he earned Oscar and BAFTA award nominations.

His six decades in the business were peppered with highlights, including his touching portrayal of the trans Bernadette in 1994’s The Adventure of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the second of his two BAFTA nominations.

But it will be his portrayal of the bearded Zod in 1978’s Superman and its sequel Superman II two years later that most people associate with Stamp. As the Kryptonian arch enemy to Christopher Reeve’s Man of Steel, Stamp introduced a darker, charming and vulnerable — more human — element to the franchise, one that’s been replicated in countless superhero movies ever since.

Edgar Wright, who directed Stamp in his final feature film, 2021’s Last Night in Soho, remembered the actor in an Instagram post as “kind, funny, and endlessly fascinating.”

“The closer the camera moved, the more hypnotic his presence became. In close-up, his unblinking gaze locked in so powerfully that the effect was extraordinary. Terence was a true movie star: the camera loved him, and he loved it right back,” Wright said.

Bill Duke, who starred with Stamp in director Steven Soderbergh’s 1999 crime drama The Limey, said he was “deeply saddened” to hear of his death.