Terence Stamp, Who Played General Zod in Superman, Dead at 87

Terence Stamp, the veteran British actor who played General Zod in Christopher Reeve’s Superman films, and later earned a BAFTA for his portrayal of a trans woman in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, has died at the age of 87.

“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,” Stamp’s family said said in a statement announcing his passing on Sunday, August 17th. “We ask for privacy at this sad time.

Stamp’s other notable on-screen credits included Billy Budd, his 1962 film debut for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor; the lead role in Steven Soderbergh’s 1999 crime thriller The Limey; and as Chancellor Finis Valorum in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

More recently, Stamp appeared in such films as Valkyrie, Big Eyes, The Adjustment Bureau, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and Last Night in Soho. And in a callback to his work in the Superman films, he portrayed Clark Kent’s biological father, Jor-El, in 23 episodes of the CW series Smallville.