Legendary British actor Terence Stamp dies aged 87

Terence Stamp, a British actor known best for playing the role of a complex villain, has died at age 87. 

The London-born star, who played General Zod in the 1978 Superman movie and sequel Superman II two years later, was in the entertainment industry for six decades. 

The actor's family confirmed to Reuters he died on Sunday, Aug. 17.

"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," they said in a statement to the outlet. 

"We ask for privacy at this sad time."

Stamp received an Oscar nomination for 1962's Billy Budd. 

He was known mostly for his roles as villains, he played General Zod in 1978's Superman and 1980's Superman II, the arch enemy to Christopher Reeve's Man of Steel. 

Stamp received widespread acclaim for his performance in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and was nominated for best actor at both the Golden Globes and BAFTAs.

He also appeared in Wall Street, The Haunted Mansion, and was widely praised for his lead in director Steven Soderbergh's 1999 crime drama The Limey.

"The first film I ever saw was called Beau Geste, with Gary Cooper," he told BFI in 2013.

"My mother took me to see that. I was probably under four years old. It was Cooper playing a soldier in the Foreign Legion. I didn't realise the impact, but it made an indelible impression on me."

But his dreams of making it on the big screen were something he kept close to his chest.

"It wasn't until we got our first TV – I would've been about 17 I think, and I was already at work – that I started saying things like, 'Oh, I could do that.'"

At the time, his dad just turned him off it and looking back, he thinks it was to try and save him "a lot of aggro".

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