Terence Stamp
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Terence Stamp (born July 22, 1939) is an English actor. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#59)[1], in 1999, he played Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum in The Phantom Menace. He also appeared as General Zod, one of the primary villains in Superman: The Movie and Superman II. Stamp also provided the voices for the Prophet of Truth in the Xbox 360 game Halo 3, Jor-El in the television series Smallville and God in the audio version of The Passion of the Christ.
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[edit] Biography
Stamp, the eldest of five children, was born in Stepney, London, the son of Ethel Ester (née Perrott) and Thomas Stamp, who was a tugboat captain.[2] His early years were spent in the East End of London, but later in his childhood the family moved to Plaistow, Essex (now Greater London). His brother, Chris, is a rock 'n roll impresario credited with helping to bring The Who to prominence during the 1960s. As his father was away for long periods with his job in the Merchant Navy, the young Stamp was mostly raised by his mother, grandmother, and aunts. He grew up idolizing the film actor Gary Cooper after his mother had taken him to see Beau Geste at the age of three. He was also inspired by James Dean.
On leaving school Stamp worked in a variety of advertising agencies in London, working his way up to a very respectable wage. 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 once having treatment on his feet.
In the 1960s, Stamp shared a flat with Michael Caine before and during their rise to fame.[3] In his autobiography, Double Feature, Stamp describes his life with Caine, including an incident in which Caine tried to force Stamp to reverse his decision to turn down the starring role in Alfie, which Caine later accepted. 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".
Stamp received extensive media coverage of his romances in the 1960s with film stars Julie Christie, Brigitte Bardot, and supermodel Jean Shrimpton. His and Julie Christie's romance, and their high profiles during London's 'swinging 60s', was at one point thought to be referenced in The Kinks' 1967 song, Waterloo Sunset, with the lines about "Terry and Julie". He and Jean 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. There, he lived in an ashram, dropping out from society for several years.
On New Year's Eve 2002, Stamp married for the first time. His 29-year-old bride was Elizabeth, whom Stamp first met during the mid-1990s at a pharmacy in Bondi, New South Wales. A Eurasian of Australian and Singapore Chinese parentage, Elizabeth was raised in Singapore before moving to Australia in her early 20s to study pharmacology. The couple divorced on the grounds of his unreasonable behaviour in April 2008[4].
[edit] Behind the Scenes
- While Valorum is 1.70 meters upon the Expanded Universe,[5] Stamp is taller than his character, at 1.83 meters.[1]
