Terence Stamp

Terence Stamp was born on July 22, 1938 in London. When he was little, his mother took him to the cinema to see a movie that made things very clear to him: when he grew up, he wanted to be like Gary Cooper in Beau Geste . With this early vocation, he soon began his acting career on stage. During these years of theater, Stamp forged a great friendship with Michael Caine , a partner on stage. His film debut was as a secondary in 1962 in the drama starring Laurence Olivier Scandal in the classroom . Right after he enjoyed a larger role in The Infernal Frigate .(1962). His composition of a sailor who mistakenly kills a superior earned him his only Oscar nomination. His career began from full sail, although during so many years in the profession, it can be said that on more than one occasion he has lost his way.

The sixties was his moment. Terence became very famous. Titles such as The Collector (1965), where his role as a psychopath was awarded at Cannes, or Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) contributed to this popularity. These were years in which he had the opportunity to work for big names in cinema such as William Wyler , John Schlesinger or Pier Paolo Pasolini . A time of plenitude that culminated in a curious break. Between 1970 and 1975 Stamp was missing in action. He cut himself off from his life and lived in places like Ibiza, Japan and India. He was in the country of Bollywood when he decided to return to his acting life. It was in Hu-Man(1975), a minor science fiction film. From this moment on he has had an uninterrupted career, in which a constant is repeated: important titles and filmmakers emerge from a tidal wave of minor films of little interest and difficult to catalogue.

Richard Donner was the one who restored some of the popularity he had had in previous decades. The filmmaker offered him to be the evil General Zod, one of Superman ‘s staunchest enemies (1978). He reprized his role in the sequel and although the passing of the years can make his little black Aladdin baggy outfit and his shortened beard look somewhat ridiculous, it is very true that he perfectly composed the villain that every superhero needs. The eighties had arrived, a time in which Terence had to face the death of his mother. The event affected him deeply and a friend recommended that he write something about it. That something became a complete autobiographical trilogy where Stamp put all the meat on the grill.

Among the titles of interest that Terence accumulated upon returning from retirement are The Hit (1984) by Stephen Frears , Wall Street (1987) by Oliver Stone or The English Falcon (1999) by Steven Soderbergh . This is not to say that the rest of the movies he made were all gruesome. There are interesting titles like Beltenebros (1991) by the Spanish Pilar Miró , or Las aventuras de Priscilla, reina del desierto (1994), where she played a mature and quite borderline ‘drag queen’.

Over the years, Stamp had made one thing clear: he was born to play the most edge characters. Without necessarily having to be the bad guy, Stamp manages to be very intimidating when he’s cast as dry and obnoxious. Gossips say that in person he is not exactly castanets, something that until Zod comes to Spain, I will not be able to confirm. So even when he’s done comedy, he’s played intimidating characters. My boss’s daughter (2003), The Haunted Mansion (2003) or the recent Say yes (2008), where he has played a peculiar self-help expert, serve as an example .

His reunion with the general public in Superman marked the beginning of a new facet in Stamp’s career. The once great celluloid star was going to become a luxury secondary. This was demonstrated in Superman and this was done again in The Phantom Menace (1999), where he played the evil Chancellor Valorum. This has continued to happen in titles such as Elektra (2005), Wanted (Wanted) and Super Agent 86 Movie (2008). Regardless of the quality of the title, Stamp has managed to be essential. It is a real luxury to enjoy the minutes that he has on stage, as he demonstrates in his latest work: Valkiria . to the orders ofBryan Singer , Stamp has become Ludwig Beck, a Nazi military critic of Hitler’s government, who was the one who incubated the idea of ​​ending the Führer.

In the field of curiosities, the television series Smallville occupies a prominent place . Stamp has participated in some of the chapters where he has played Jor-El, Superman’s father. That is, General Zod become the father of his worst enemy. In the sentimental field, the popularity gave Stamp more than one high-profile romance. However, he has only been married once and that was in 2002, to Elizabeth O’Rourke. The marriage ended in 2008. In other words, he has lived his extensive career being one of those golden bachelors of the celluloid world. He is now 69 years old and there is nothing to suggest that he is going to leave acting. Hopefully General Zod will stay for a while.