Terence Stamp is proof that you should never underestimate the motivating power of a parent’s disapproval.
The British actor, who died at the age of 87 on Aug. 17, had an impressive career that spanned over seven decades. But he almost didn’t pursued his passion for acting.
Stamp told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023 that his father, a tugboat captain, wasn’t exactly thrilled when his eldest expressed an interest in acting.
โHe said, ‘Son, people like us donโt do things like that,โ he explained. “And I went to protest and he said, ‘Son I don’t want you to talk about it anymore.”
Hearing that was difficult for a young Stamp, but he later understood why his father said it.
“Now in retrospect, he was trying to protect me from something that to him seemed beyond impossible,” the actor said.
Stamp explained that his father’s disapproval gave him “the energy” he needed to follow his dreams. He left home so he wouldn’t “go against my dad” and went on to won a scholarship to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
This moment ushered in a shift in Stamp’s life.
“There was a kind of a change. I just felt that somehow I was swimming with the tide,” he said.
Stamp was the oldest of five children. His late younger brother, Chris Stamp, was a record producer who managed acts like The Who and Jimi Hendrix.
During an interview with NPR in 2021, Stamp recalled how he first caught the acting bug.
“I saw my first movie, and I just wanted to be that. And I never really spoke about it. In other words, it was a very private sort of fantasy that I had,” he said. “And when it got to sort of near leaving school, in other words, letโs say I was like 15, 16 and we got our first television, I started making remarks about, ‘Oh, I could do that. Oh, I could do better than that.'”
Stamp’s big break came in 1962 when he was 24 years old and received an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe award for his role in “Billy Budd.”
The actor was also well-known for starring as General Zod in “Superman” and its sequel. He also appeared in “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.”
Stamp’s family announced his death in a statement sent to the Reuters news agency on Aug. 17. A cause of death has not been shared.
