Terence Stamp has died aged 87

His cause of death was not immediately given.

In a statement his loved ones said: "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."

Born in London's East End in 1938, Terence was the son of a tugboat stoker and grew up during the bombing raids of the second world war.

After leaving school, he worked as a messenger in advertising before winning a scholarship to drama school.

He shared a flat with a young Michael Caine and made his screen breakthrough as the title character in Peter Ustinov's 1962 adaptation of Billy Budd, earning an Academy Award nomination.

He said in 2019: "To be cast by somebody like Ustinov was something that gave me a great deal of self-confidence in my film career.

"During the shooting, I just thought, 'Wow! This is it'."

In the late 1960s, Terence appeared in Italian films, working with Federico Fellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini. He said about the experience: "I view my life really as before and after Fellini.

"Being cast by him was the greatest compliment an actor like myself could get."

Around this time he began studying yoga in India, inspired by Indian spiritual speaker Jiddu Krishnamurti.

He recalled in a 2015 interview with Watkins Books: "There was a rumour around the ashram that he was preparing me to teach the tantric group."

After years away from the limelight, Terence was recalled to Hollywood in 1977 when his agent told him he was being considered for Superman.

He embraced the role of Zod, telling curious passers-by during shooting: "Kneel before Zod, you b*******."

Terence went on to appear in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), Valkyrie (2008), and The Adjustment Bureau (2011), among many other films.

He counted Princess Diana among his friends.

Terence told the Daily Express in 2017 about their bond: "It wasn't a formal thing, we'd just meet up for a cup of tea, or sometimes we'd have a long chat for an hour."

In 2002, at the age of 64, Terence married pharmacist Elizabeth O'Rourke, then 29.

They divorced in 2008.

Asked in one interview how he persuaded directors to cast him, he replied: "I believed in myself. "Originally, when I didn't get cast I told myself there was a lack of discernment in them. This could be considered conceit.

"I look at it differently - cherishing that divine spark in myself."