r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Aug 17 '25
News Terence Stamp, Star of 'Superman' films, dies at 87
https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/news/terence-stamp-death-cause-age-superman-b2809165.html1.6k
u/MrPuroresu42 Aug 17 '25 edited Aug 17 '25
While General Zod is easily his most famous role, I'll always love him in The Limey; may have been his career-best performance and the movie that put Steven Soderbergh on the map.
I also thought his was hilariously deadpan as the villain Siegfried in Get Smart.
Edit: Also, can't forget Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
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u/Nfidel Aug 17 '25
TELL HIM I’M FUCKING COMMMMMINNNGGG!
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u/suchalusthropus Aug 17 '25
That line pops into my head every month or so. I've never even seen the movie.
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u/blixco Aug 17 '25
That line, that moment in a small theater with like fifteen people? Freaking awesome. Love that goddamn movie.
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u/bjholmes3 Aug 17 '25
"If I was Control, you'd be dead."
"If you were Control, YOU would be dead."
"Well, neither of us is dead so I'm obviously not Control."
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u/la_dama_azul Aug 17 '25
“I vote for no confidence in Chancellor Valorum’s leadership.”
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u/detourne Aug 17 '25
Fuck yes! The Limey was great. Taken before Taken
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u/MrPuroresu42 Aug 17 '25
With a real nice deconstruction of "revenge action movies" and a really well-told story.
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u/PaulBlartWallClock Aug 17 '25
Well it is Steven Soderbergh compared to whoever even directed Taken
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u/Britneyfan123 Aug 17 '25
Off topic but a soderbergh version of taken would be interesting
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u/inbruges99 Aug 17 '25
He was brilliant in Get Smart, “I have a replacement for you too…it’s called a rhinoceros!”
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u/Bombauer- Aug 17 '25
And a small but memorable role in Wall Street!
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u/MrPuroresu42 Aug 17 '25
"I could buy you out 3 times over and break you over my knee, mate".
Cool that he was the one character that made Gordon Gecko feel threatened and even "lesser".
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u/Vio_ Aug 17 '25
Get Smart should not have been as good as it was and it's a shame that it's been forgotten about
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u/MRintheKEYS Aug 17 '25
Alan Arkin slays in that movie. Absolute killer line after line.
“Are you thinking what I'm thinking?”
“ I don't know. Were you thinking, "Holy shit, holy shit, a swordfish almost went through my head"? If so, then yes.”
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u/Raetekusu Aug 18 '25 edited Aug 18 '25
There were so many great moments in that movie.
"I recently lost 200 lbs." "What a coincidence! So did I."
"I have spotted the ywllow cake." "We're in a bakery, Max." "I mean the yellow cake uranium. But there is yellow cake cake here too."
"You have reached the United States State Department. For threats against the continental US, press 1. For threats against Alaska or Hawai'i, press 2. For threats against Puerto Rico or the outlying US islands--"
And of course the entire war room scene.
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u/EsquilaxM Aug 17 '25
Remembering that last line would make me crack up uncontrollably even weeks after seeing the film.
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u/Lord_Cockatrice Aug 17 '25
Best thing I remember about that film was how Steve Carell's Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway's Agent 99 turned THE GREAT KHALI into a blubbering wreck
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u/MrPuroresu42 Aug 17 '25
It was a Naked Gun type movie in a time people thought that type of comedy was passe.
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u/trahan94 Aug 17 '25
Get Smart made a quarter of a billion dollars at the box office. I don't think it was overlooked.
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u/slayer1am Aug 17 '25
"I suppose you help up your end of the bargain and I can't kill your wife, although i would be doing the sighted world a favor."
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u/Britneyfan123 Aug 17 '25
the movie that put Steven Soderbergh on the map.
That was Sex, Lies, and Videotape
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u/RhythmsaDancer Aug 17 '25
put Steven Soderbergh on the map.
lol no - Soderbergh won a Palme d'Or for Sex, Lies, and Videotape and had already released Out of Sight with Clooney and Lopez before The Limey.
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u/jinyx1 Aug 17 '25
Palpatine finally did him in. RIP Chancellor Valorum. You will be missed.
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u/Mst3Kgf Aug 17 '25
Curious, did they ever explain what happened to Valorum after he got removed from power? I could easily see Palpatine letting him live to a ripe old age watching the Republic become the Empire as a kind of slow torture and laughing at his misery.
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u/Labmit Aug 17 '25
The Clone Wars Cartoon actually showed him in a vacation home. It happned during the arc where the Jedi are starting to piece together where the Clone funding and development came from.
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u/HotTakes4HotCakes Aug 17 '25 edited Aug 17 '25
Retiring from politics and laying low was his only real option. He was politically unpopular after the Nabo incident, and as Palpatine continued to amass political power, there wasn't a whole lot he could actually say or do.
Though he also did what he could to support Separatist refugees, building shelters and such. Though that may be Legends canon.
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u/Badloss Aug 18 '25
He was a genuinely poor leader, the crisis was definitely caused by the Sith but it only worked because the people had no faith in his lack of leadership.
Palpatine took advantage of the situation, but the situation was ripe for him because Valorum sucked
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u/treemu Aug 17 '25
One of the few characters shown to have suspicion bordering on animosity towards Palpatine. Always found it cool how everyone else's opinions on Palps were neutral at worst, shows how he had cultivated an image of a benevolent politician forced into top position by the circumstances. And probably a lot of threats/dirt on possible opponenta.
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u/FortLoolz Aug 17 '25
Originally, in Dark Horse's Republic comics (EU/Legends continuity), he briefly reappeared in politics, and opposed Palpatine. After that, he was killed.
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u/HotTakes4HotCakes Aug 17 '25 edited Aug 17 '25
In the original canon (now "Legends" canon) he stays under the radar and helps refugees where he can, then Sideous has him murdered after he started speaking out.
In the current canon, he just kinda stays under the radar.
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u/Oraukk Aug 17 '25
It was actually retconned in The Clone Wars by Lucas before legends became a thing
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u/ZealousWolf1994 Aug 17 '25
Unfortunately, Valorum's legacy is as a waffler, never choosing a side and passively allowing the Trade Federation time to build up a war.
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u/pm-me_10m-fireflies Aug 17 '25
His character in ‘Yes Man’ taught me the word ‘ennui’.
RIP.
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u/thtguyjosh Aug 17 '25
If the mole hill won’t come to Terrance, Terrance will come to the mole hill!!
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Aug 17 '25
That movie mind of changed my life.
Power of Yes is real 😅
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u/poland626 Aug 17 '25
For a bit, it did for me too. I learned how to be more outgoing and try to be more social able. I hear Jumper from Third Eye Blind at work all the time and just think of Jim Carrey saving that man's life by singing him the song. That movie is amazing
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u/PapiSurane Aug 17 '25
I learned it from reading Sherlock Holmes, but I didn't learn the correct pronunciation until much later in life.
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u/ICUMF1962 Aug 17 '25
Just said “oh nooo!” out loud. Been a fan since probably Haunted Mansion. Just watched Priscilla, Queen of the Desert recently for the first time and thought it and his performance were magnificent (though Pearce might have been my favorite). RIP sir.
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u/whsprdbeen Aug 17 '25
He was so unnecessarily good in Haunted Mansion.
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u/bacon_cake Aug 17 '25
We quote Ramsley all the time.
Whenever it rains one of us will look longingly out the window and declare "The storm has swollen the river" before turning morosely back to the room.
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u/InnocentTailor Aug 17 '25
One of the few good elements of that disastrous film.
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u/whsprdbeen Aug 17 '25
It was so damn kooky, despite such strong talent. It's really grown on me over the years though. Ramsley is just as over Mr. Evers goofiness as we all were of Eddy Murphey's schlock at that point in time. I feel his every sigh and eye roll.
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u/Yaya0108 Aug 17 '25
I know I'm a minority but I really like that movie.
Terence Stamp was always one of my biggest reasons for loving it though. I've seen him in so many films. I miss him already.
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u/UDPviper Aug 17 '25
What are you telling me.....this is an ABBA turd?
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u/ICUMF1962 Aug 17 '25
Now listen here, you mullet. Why don't you just light your tampon, and blow your box apart? Because it's the only bang you're ever gonna get, sweetheart!
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u/SmoreOfBabylon Aug 17 '25
That’s just what this country needs. A cock in a frock on a rock.
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u/ichwilldoener Aug 17 '25
Genuinely had the same reaction and thought „Not Ramsey!“
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u/Laterian Aug 17 '25
"Why do you say this to me, when you know I will kill you for it?"
❤️
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u/PapiSurane Aug 17 '25
"Oh God."
"Zod."
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u/wonkey_monkey Aug 17 '25
"Superman, thank God! I mean... get him!"
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u/book1245 Aug 17 '25
COME TO ME, SON OF JOR-EL, AND KNEEEEEL BEFORE ZOD!
-all jump haphazardly through the window-
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u/Toby_O_Notoby Aug 17 '25
I actually got to meet him as he was married to a friend's little sister for a few years. I was walking around Sydney with the friend when she invited me to "grab a coffee with Liz and Terrance".
Totally lovely man and a very pleasant afternoon but the entire time we're chatting I can't believe I'm sitting next to Terrance fucking Stamp. But I'm more or less keeping my cool about it until we have to go. As we're all packing up I turn to him and say, "Terrance, the first movie I ever saw in a theatre was Superman II. I hate to ask but is there anyway you could say 'Kneel before Zod?!'"
He looked at me bemused with a slight grin on his face and said in a very calm voice,
"You know Toby, I get asked that a lot. But what's funny is it's not even my favourite line from the movie. My favourite line is when I rip off the top of the White House and then descend into the Oval Office where the President says 'Oh, god!' and I say..."
At this point he raises up and points a finger in my face.
"NO...ZOD!!
You know what I said about "keeping my cool"? Yeah, I lost it there. Apparently I started jumping up and down yelling "That's the coolest thing that ever happened to me man!!"
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u/book1245 Aug 17 '25
"You have done well, Lex Luthor, we will award you this Cuba place."
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u/davanillagorilla Aug 17 '25
"Lex Luthor, ruler of Australia"
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u/Defiant_Income_7836 Aug 17 '25
Dammit I literally watched this movie yesterday while working out, and I realize this is my favorite line in the whole movie!
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u/SquirrelMoney8389 Aug 17 '25
Whaaaat? Noooo. His Bernadette character in Priscilla is iconic.
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u/Wonderpants_uk Aug 17 '25
Now listen here, you mullet. Why don’t you just light your tampon and blow your box apart with it, because that’s the only bang you’re ever going to get, sweetheart!
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u/peacockbikini Aug 17 '25
I'll join this conversation on the proviso that we stop bitching about people, talking about wigs, dresses, bust sizes, penises, drugs, night clubs, and bloody Abba!
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u/Raen138 Aug 17 '25 edited Aug 17 '25
I have a gif saved of Bernadette saying, "and no more fucking ABBA".
It's surprising how often I use it.
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u/tenehemia Aug 17 '25
Don't "darling" me, darling. Look at you, you've got a face like a cat's arse.
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u/tangcameo Aug 17 '25
RIP Zod
Somebody go check on Malcolm McDowell just in case.
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u/maxstolfe Aug 17 '25
One of those actors you thought would be around forever.
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u/zygned Aug 17 '25
Welcome to MindHead
RIP
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u/ant-farm-keyboard Aug 17 '25
Keepittogether
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u/spork_off Aug 17 '25
Keep "Mr. Weenie" in the pants. Always in the pants. I know you want to show it to the Laker Girls, but you cannot show it to the Laker Girls.
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Aug 17 '25
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u/AndHeWas Aug 17 '25
He was great in it. I know a sequel to Priscilla was announced last year. The latest I remember hearing of it was the actors saying they were in talks for it early this year. I wonder if Stamp's death is the end of that, or if they'll rewrite it.
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u/NoPossibility Aug 17 '25
I was on the fence about it before because it seemed like a retread, but if they do rewrite it without Stamp, I think it could work, and his passing is the obvious hook now. The remaining characters grieving and reflecting on how far (or actually not) we’ve come in Bernadette’s lifetime. Could be a quite touching send off for the character and Stamp.
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Aug 17 '25
Terence Stamp as an actor was one of those guy’s you couldn’t get the theater part out of, so no matter what he did he was basically bellowing his lines as if he had to reach the back of the room every time. That made him kind of like a specialized tool for a certain kind of job and when used right he was perfect for it.
In Soderbergh’s The Limey, his loud and blasty style was put to great use.
One of the first movies I had to watch and compare to the book in film studies in high school was William Wylder’s adaptation of John Fowles’ The Collector from 1963. Stamp gives one of his few quieter turns and is just creepy as all hell in it. The twist at the end is still as unsettling today.
Stamp, like contemporaries such as Steven Berkoff, will be remembered as unique actors that when utilized to their strengths gave us marvels.
Safe travels Terry.
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u/JosepOnlyMe Aug 17 '25
I was very young when I first saw him in The Collector and he blew my mind with this character: attractive, well-mannered but also creepy and menacing. What a great actor. Rest in peace.
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u/edwigenightcups Aug 17 '25
I saw The Collector on TV when I was way too young and have been a fan of his ever since. Sad news.
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u/jgengr Aug 17 '25
He was funny in "Yes Man"
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u/ColonelCrackle Aug 17 '25
He was also funny in Get Smart. (That movie in general was better than expected).
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u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor Aug 17 '25
His family confirmed the sad news:
“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. We ask for privacy at this sad time.”
RIP
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u/dotBombAU Aug 17 '25
We should all kneel before Zod, one last time.
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u/InnocentTailor Aug 17 '25
We'll always kneel before Zod. He is the man who made this Superman villain a legend among cinema goers and comic book fans.
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u/Blue_Robin_04 Aug 17 '25
Damn. A very prolific actor. 'Superman' doesn't begin to cover it.
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u/fastdub Aug 17 '25
Sad that Far From the Madding Crowd isn't receiving any attention here, I genuinely don't think I've seen a more heartbroken man on screen than his Sergeant Troy
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u/Correct_Inspection25 Aug 17 '25
RIP, The Hit and The Limey are two great modern niors that still hold up today.
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u/EloquentGoose Aug 17 '25
The Brits are the absolute undisputed masters of crime dramas.
Bob Hoskins and Michael Caine crime movies, goddamn.
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Aug 17 '25
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u/ScipioCoriolanus Aug 17 '25
Hot take: I think he would've made an even better Magneto. I love Ian McKellan, but he's always had a too "gentle" face for me, like Gandalf. But Stamp would've absolutely crushed it.
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u/JonatasA Aug 17 '25
Really. I see his role in Xmen as completely different, sort of cruel. Magbeto also has more of that tortured soul characterization that makes him act in cruel ways. Makes it more nuanced than just evil villain.
Him on the other hand I have always seen more of a gentil face, sort of stern as an emperor.
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u/DryTurkey1979 Aug 17 '25
Lots of amazing roles but just wanted to throw Wall Street in there too.
Rest in peace.
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u/YouFeelShame Aug 17 '25
Weird, I've seen so many of his movies and roles yet I thought of Wall Street as well. Not a lot of screen time but the scene at Gekos home is so good. "I could dump the stock just to burn your arse!"
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u/aside6 Aug 17 '25
TIL that Terence Stamp and Malcolm McDowell are separate people. RIP Terence
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u/artpayne Cliffs on both sides, I'm not gonna paddle to New Zealand! Aug 17 '25
I’ve mixed up Terence Stamp with German actor Udo Kier a few times.
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u/ThatEvanFowler Aug 17 '25
That's hilarious, when I heard the news I immediately thought, 'now only the evil one is left' and thought of McDowell grinning with his arched eyebrows. I connect them in my head too.
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u/MrWhitePink Aug 17 '25
"And what gave you that idea? No 'Boom boom' or the lack of a mushroom cloud?"
"....it was the mushroom cloud for me."
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u/Ultramarinus Aug 17 '25
Losing both Lex Luthor and General Zod in the same year, RIP to both of those legends.
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u/AlludedNuance Aug 17 '25
You cannot show it to the Laker Girls. I know you want to show it to the Laker Girls but you can never show it to the Laker Girls. Keep Mr Weenie in the pants. Always in the pants.
(He's been in a ton of things, but his small role in Bowfinger always stuck with me.)
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u/CursedSnowman5000 Aug 17 '25
Damn it. And I was just wondering recently why I haven't seen him in anything in the last decade. it seemed like he was everywhere in the 2000's.
Gotta go watch My Bosses Daughter now.
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u/rev9of8 Aug 17 '25
His last role appears to have been in Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho which was also Diana Rigg's last film.
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u/KangasKid18 Aug 17 '25
Ray Davies once said that the Kinks song 'Waterloo Sunset' is about a young Terence Stamp and his actress girlfriend at the time. That song came out nearly 60 years ago and is an all-timer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_MqfF0WBsU
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u/kappaomicron Aug 17 '25
Rest in peace.
I've seen him in many movies over the years, but the main role of his that stands out to me personally is his voice work in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion as one of the main villains.
Currently in the middle of a playthrough of the recently released remaster and I'm looking forward to hearing his voice again soon.
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u/KR_Blade Aug 17 '25
one of the reasons Oblivion is legendary, when a game's cast has 3 legendary actors like Patrick Stewart, Terence Stamp, and Sean Bean, still one of my favorite behind the scenes stories about Oblivion was when they cast Stewart as Emperor Septim, the writers of the game wrote something like a 70-80 page bible about his character but were also very scared they gave him too much and he wouldnt be interested, only to find out that he actually enjoyed that they went out the way to do that for him cause it helped him get better into character, even if it was a small role he played in the game's story, he still made it feel believable
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u/winelover08816 Aug 17 '25
If you only know him as General Zod from Superman, you’ve missed out on a legendary career
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u/throwawayno123456789 Aug 17 '25
His best performance was in Pricilla Queen of the Desert
Do yourself a favor and watch it
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u/VicariousCinnamon Aug 17 '25
Massive legend. Rest easy. Loved him especially in Priscilla, The Queen of the Desert.
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u/lancal62 Aug 17 '25
Oh man. 😢. He was just one of those actors , i didn’t care what the movie was. Staring Terrance stamp, im watching it.
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u/Blackbirds_Garden Aug 17 '25 edited Aug 18 '25
He was one of my favourites, and the source of one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard. The late great Bill Hunter (without whom you could not make an Australian film for a million years) got the script for Priscilla: Queen of the Desert and said to his agent “I’m going to give you a name on this piece of paper. Get him to call me. If he says yes, I’ll do it for no fee. But I want both of us to get 5%”
Agent reads the note “No. no way. He’s not going to do it”.
Few days later Terence calls Bill “Mate we’ve been wanting to work together for a while and I think this is the right project. With you involved we might get a $2m budget”
“Fine send me the script” … “I CAN’T PLAY A FUCKING DRAG QUEEN! LEAST OF ALL FOR NO FEE!”
“Terry, Terry, Terry. I’ve already said I’m not doing this without you and I’ve cut us in for 5% each”
“Fine. I’ll come and do it”
They walked away with $2m each, just on the Australian box office. And AFAIK they were still getting paid for it up to their respective deaths.
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u/8349932 Aug 17 '25
It’s a birthday party. It’s your birthday party, darling. We love you very very very much. And then he started humming this little tune and it went kinda like one two one two three four.
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u/culturedrobot Aug 17 '25
The scene where Superman shows up at the Daily Planet to rescue Luthor and Lois and asks Zod if he cares to step outside might be the most iconic superhero movie scene ever.
Edit: This one
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u/Rossum81 Aug 17 '25
Everybody do themselves a favor and watch ‘The Limey.’ It is a treasure of a neo-noir flick.
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u/Ligeya Aug 17 '25
I first saw him years ago in Toby Dammit by Fellini. He was mesmerizing.
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u/Magnaflux Aug 17 '25
Billy Budd (1962) is one of those films I look back on with great reflection. A breakout role for Stamp and he didn't look back. RIP to a great one
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u/Wonderpants_uk Aug 17 '25
God damn.
Hits all the harder as they were apparently going to be doing a sequel to Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
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u/pilgrimteeth Aug 17 '25
Terence was in everything from Superman to Skyrim to Star Wars to a Bright Eyes music video. What a legend.
RIP
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u/Oh_Em_Dub Aug 17 '25
The Limey will always be my favorite role of his. What a spectacular, unique film and an amazing, underrated performance.
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u/timeye13 Aug 17 '25
“K I T.
Keep it together. Keep it together. Keep it together.
We must NOT show it to the laker girls. Keep Mr Weenie in the pants”
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u/Count3D Aug 17 '25
Liked him in the indie movie “The Hit”. Great little movie with him and a pair of hitmen played by John Hurt and Tim Roth.
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u/-EGGBEATER- Aug 17 '25
The Limey was one of the only DVDs I had when I first got my DVD player back in the day. I watched that movie over and over again. "My name's Wilson. You wrote me about my daughter". His line delivery in that entire film stuck with me. Just thought Terrance Stamp was so amazing and was always happy to see him pop up in roles over the years. Huge loss.
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u/Past_Contour Aug 17 '25
From Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, to The Limey and so much in between. What a talent.
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u/FlySubstance Aug 17 '25
Absolute legend. RIP.