Perfected playing the cool villain

WITH a magnetic screen presence and an ability to deliver an unnerving intensity, actor Terence Stamp's brooding performances often felt alien to those viewers accustomed to the more one-dimensional acting style of contemporary Hollywood.

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Though, ironically, he lamented being remembered primarily as Superman's nemesis General Zod, his influence on Britain's finest contemporary actors including Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and Tom Hiddleston - is unmistakable.

Born in London's East End to Ethel and Thomas, a tugboat stoker, Stamp endured the Blitz as a child before working in advertising.

He switched to acting in his 20s, making a sensational screen debut as the title character in Peter Ustinov's Billy Budd (1962), a performance that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.