by Stephen Vagg
Terence Stamp died on 17 August 2025, leaving behind a rich legacy of films, books and anecdotes from the swinging sixties. We thought we’d take a parochial look at the man and list ten ways that Stamp was linked to Australia.
Attending the Melbourne Cup with Jean Shrimpton in 1965
In 1965, Stamp was one of the hottest British actors in the world, coming off Term of Trial, Billy Budd and The Collector, and he was dating supermodel Jean Shrimpton, then one of the most famous models in the world. Stamp accompanied her on a trip to Australia late in the year, which included visits to the Flemington Derby and Melbourne Cup, and the Australian press lost its minds. Shrimpton was criticised for going to the races without a hat, glove or stockings and this got a lot of coverage. Seriously, there were editorials about it. Stamp criticised Melbourne as a conventional town quipping, “I’m surprised they didn’t ask the Beatles to shave off their hair.” You can imagine how well that went down. Stamp disliked the visit that much, particularly the Australian press, that he told his agents to refuse any offers of work in Australia, until the producers of Priscilla slipped past the net and revived his career almost thirty years later.
Uncle John the Jesuit monk
Stamp had an uncle who was a Jesuit monk in Australia. No kidding! He mentioned him briefly in one of his memoirs. We think that kind of thing was common for British boomers – relatives randomly winding up in the colonies.
Peter Finch in Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
A big budget glossy version of Thomas Hardy from the star, producers, writer and director of Darling (1965) – Julie Christie, Joe Janni and Nat Cohen, Fred Raphael and John Schlesinger – didn’t meet with that film’s success but there is still much to admire, particularly the acting. This includes Stamp as a 19th century fuck-boy and Australia’s Peter Finch as (SPOILERS) the dopey man who loves Christie so much that he kills Stamp. So, two years after the Melbourne Cup paparazzi experience, an Australian was literally killing Stamp on screen.
Lex Luthor wants Australia in Superman II (1980)
Stamp’s most legendary performance is probably General Zod in Superman I and II… we include those movies on this list because of the scene when Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) goes in cahoots with Zod in the sequel, all he asks for in return is Australia. That bit made us so proud.
Bill Hunter was in The Hit (1984)
A decade before Stamp played love scenes against Bill Hunter in Priscilla, they were in The Hit, a Stephen Frears thriller, in which Hunter was cast off the strength of his performance in the miniseries The Dismissal. The film didn’t really get its due on release but has a solid reputation these days – it’s probably better regarded now than on release – and Stamp and Hunter got along marvellously.
Richard Franklin directed and Everett de Roche wrote Link (1986)
The Franklin-de Roche combination gave us Ozsploitation classics Patrick (1978) and Roadgames (1981), but this movie was made in England by EMI Films. It’s a thriller about dangerous chimpanzees with Stamp as a mysterious anthropologist (a role conceived with Richard Burton in mind and turned down by Albert Finney, Anthony Perkins, Anthony Hopkins and Christopher Plummer). The movie’s production was troubled – Franklin didn’t get along with the English crew (particularly producer Rick McCallum), the script was constantly rewritten, there were technical issues with the chimps, Franklin developed an embarrassing crush on star Elisabeth Shue – and the movie struggled at the box office but is full of interesting things.
The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (1994)
Stephan Elliott had a rough time trying to get actors to star in his drag queen comedy, in particular a star to play the ageing Bernadette. According to Al Clark’s book on the movie, they approached Tony Curtis, John Cleese, Colin Firth, who all passed, and were considering Tim Curry when they had a brainwave about Terence Stamp. It was a great decision – he provided a magnificent performance, giving his role great dignity, warmth and gravitas, as well as crafting one of Australian cinema’s best love stories in the romance with Bill Hunter, who Stamp recommended for the role, warmly remembering the actor from The Hit.
Elizabeth O’Rourke
For a time, Stamp was as famous for his love life as his film career, his girlfriends including Jean Shrimpton and Julie Christie. He liked to play the field and only got married once, to pharmacist Elizabeth O’Rourke, who was half his age, who he met in Sydney in the 1990s while buying some distilled water. They got married in 2002 and managed to last until 2008 until they got divorced.
Melissa George in The Limey (1999)
Our own Angel Parrish played the dead daughter who propels the plot of this late period Stamp vehicle from Steven Soderbergh, which uses footage from Poor Cow (1967). A very good movie, by the way, although not a big hit – perhaps Stamp was a little too cold an actor to be the big star that his former flatmate Michael Caine was.
Making The Phantom Menace (1999) and Red Planet (2000) in Sydney
Stamp appeared in two big budget scifi efforts shot in Sydney, Phantom Menace, about which too much has been written, and Red Planet, which is forgotten. Stamp was unhappy that his image in Phantom Menace was used to sell Pizza Hut and cola products. Stamp has quite a big role Red Planet but hardly anyone saw it.
