WASHINGTON — Terence Stamp, the British actor who often played the role of a complex villain, including that of General Zod in the early Superman films, has died.  He was 87. 

Stamp’s family confirmed the actor’s death to the New York Times and Reuters on Sunday. No cause of death was immediately known. 

“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,” the family said in a statement shared to Reuters. 

Stamp is best known for his role as Superman’s arch-villain General Zod in the 1978 “Superman” movie and the 1980 sequel. As the Kryptonian arch enemy to Christopher Reeve’s Man of Steel, Stamp introduced a darker and charming — more human — element to the franchise, one that’s been replicated in countless superhero movies ever since.

He would return to the Man of Steel franchise in the early 2000s when he played Jor-El, Superman’s biological father, in the TV series “Smallville.”

The London-born Stamp started his film career with 1962’s seafaring “Billy Budd,” for which he earned an Oscar nomination.

Stamp’s six decades in the business were peppered with highlights, including his role as a transgender woman in 1994’s “The Adventure of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.” Stamp also was widely praised for his lead in director Steven Soderbergh’s 1999 crime drama “The Limey.”

Stamp would also appear in “Valkyrie” alongside Tom Cruise, “The Adjustment Bureau” with Matt Damon and in “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.”

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