Terence Stamp, Late Icon of the Swinging Sixties, Pushed Boundaries in This Bold ’90s Role
The legendary English actor Terence Stamp, a go-to Hollywood villain best known for his performance as the regal Kryptonian criminal General Zod in the ‘70s Superman movies, died on Sunday morning at the age of 87, per a statement from his family. “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,” they said.
Stamp leaves behind a long and varied onscreen legacy, and there are plenty of Terence Stamp performances that fans hold dearly in their hearts: for the Letterboxd-pilled cinephile crowd, there’s his Oscar-nominated acting debut in Billy Budd, William Wyler’s 1965 horror The Collector, and his part in 1987’s Wall Street. Star Wars guys will remember him as the intergalactic politician who loses his seat to the future Emperor Palpatine in The Phantom Menace. All tremendous. But there’s one Stamp role that’ll always shine brightest in my mind: his performance at Bernadette Bassenger, the trans matriarch of the drag queen trio—rounded off by Tick aka Mitzi Del Bra (Hugo Weaving) and Adam aka Felicia Jollygoodfellow (Guy Pearce)—who take to the Australian outback by tour bus in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
The perhaps obvious thing to note is just how bold it was for a middle-aged straight guy who had been an icon of the Swinging Sixties to take on a trans role in the early ‘90s. Not least one that was so empathetic and, given the comparably retrograde politics of the time, handled with relative sensitivity. (Stephan Elliott’s film is a far cry from 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs, whose serial killer Buffalo Bill is portrayed as murdering cis women for their skin.) Conversely, Stamp portrays Bernadette as the epitome of resilience, and is a hilarious, catty hoot, deflecting the prejudice that the Priscilla crew encounter on their road trip with zinging rejoinders. Critics loved his performance; on the awards front, it led to his second, and only other, BAFTA nomination.
One scene sticks in the brain most of all. While out on the road, the three of them arrive at a rural bar, where they immediately stick out like sore thumbs among the blue-collar, predominantly male patrons. (Their order? A Stoli and tonic, a bloody Mary, and a lime daiquiri. The barman looks both bemused and terrified.) A burly woman emerges from the crowd, and makes it clear that their type isn’t welcome in these parts. To which, Bernadette sardonically responds, with razor-sharp wit: “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.” Cue an explosion of laughter across the bar; sometimes, a good ol’ fashioned barb is all you need to get the haters on side. (Making matters worse for the she-troll, Bernadette goes on to nail her in a drinking game.)
The film has become an iconic, cult staple of the New Queer Cinema, standing out as one of then-few examples of trans people — and drag queens — being handled on screen with dignity. (There is an ongoing joke in the film that deploys Bernadette’s dead name, a bit that may feel out of touch to a modern audience, but this was over 30 years ago.) Conversations have emerged over the last couple of years about a belated sequel, which was seemingly in the works, but it’s tough to see how you make a Priscilla 2 without Bernadette. Nonetheless, we’ll always have those adventures in the outback.
This story originally appeared in British GQ.
