Terence Stamp dead: Superman star dies aged 87 as family pay sad tribute

Superman actor Terence Stamphas reportedly died aged 87, his family as confirmed. The movie star is best known for playing General Zod in the Hollywood hits Superman and Superman II.

Stamp, who was an Oscar nominated actor,also appeared in Pier Paolo Pasolini's Theorem in 1968, A Season in Hell in 1971 and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994, where he starred as a transgender woman.

The actor is said to have died this morning. Stamp was born in London's East End in 1938 as the son of a tugboat stoker. His early years saw him endure the bombing of the city during World War Two.

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Before leaving school to work in advertising, Stamp won a scholarship to go to drama school. "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." His cause of death has not been reported.

Stamp was known for his good looks and dress sense alongside his acting as he was dubbed one of Britain's most glamorous couples with Julie Christie. They had starred together in Far From the Madding Crowd in 1967.

The actor also dated model Jean Shrimpton, and became photographer David Bailey's muse. Stamp lost out on the role of James Bond but went on to work in Italian films.

He worked with Federico Fellini in the late 1960s. Stamp decided to take a break from the glitzy world of Hollywood fame as he studied yoga in India.

However, upon his return he bagged his most high-profile role. He appeared as General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in Superman in 1978 and its sequel in 1980.

The actor would often recall how he was about to become a tantric sex teacher at an ashram in India before getting a telegram from his London agent.

"I was on the night flight the next day," Stamp told Watkins Books in 2015 of the moment he received the Superman call after eight years out of work.

Stamp went on to star in Valkyrie with Tom Cruise in 2008, The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon in 2011 as well as Tim Burton films.

Speaking of his life, Stamp once said: "The great blessing of my life is that I had the really hard bit at the beginning because we were really poor."

Before landing his acting scholarship, Stamp chose to keep his ambitions a secret from his family as he feared disapproval. "I couldn't tell anyone I wanted to be an actor because it was out of the question. I would have been laughed at," he confessed.

Stamp married pharmacist Elizabeth O'Rourke in 2002 aged 64. However they divorced in 2008 and Stamp never married again.

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