Stamp made his film debut in Peter Ustinov's 1962 film adaptation of Herman Melville's Billy Budd. Stamp's portrayal of the title character brought him not only an Academy Award nomination, but also international attention. He then appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in Term of Trial (1962).

Stamp collaborated with some of the cinema's most revered filmmakers. Stamp starred in William Wyler's adaptation of John Fowles' The Collector (1965), opposite Samantha Eggar, and in Modesty Blaise (1966), for director Joseph Losey and producer Joe Janni. Stamp reteamed with producer Janni for two more projects: John Schlesinger's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Far From The Madding Crowd (1967) starring Julie Christie, and Ken Loach's first feature film Poor Cow (1967).

Stamp then journeyed to Italy to star in Federico Fellini's Toby Dammit, a 50-minute portion of the Edgar Allan Poe film adaptation Histoires extraordinaires (1968, aka Spirits of the Dead). Stamp lived in Italy for several years, during which time his film work included Pier Paolo Pasolini's Teorema (1968) opposite Silvana Mangano, and Stagione all'inferno, Una (1970). Stamp was considered for the title role of Alfie (1966), but turned it down.

His subsequent film credits included Alan Cooke's The Mind of Mr. Soames (1970), Peter Brook's Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979), Stephen Frears' The Hit (1984). Also in 1984, he had the opportunity to play the Devil in a cameo in The Company of Wolves. He also starred in Richard Franklin's Link (1986), Ivan Reitman's Legal Eagles (1986), Michael Cimino's The Sicilian (1987), and Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987). The film Beltenebros (1992, aka Prince of Shadows), in which Stamp starred for director Pilar Miro, was awarded the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

Stamp began his fourth decade as an actor wearing some of the choicest of Lizzy Gardiner's Academy Award-winning costumes for the comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) for director Stefan Elliot and starring with Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving.

In 1999, Stamp played a lead role in Steven Soderbergh's The Limey, to widespread critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival. For his performance, Stamp received nominations for Best Male Lead at the 2000 Independent Spirit Awards, and for Best British Actor at the London Film Critic Circle (ALFS) Awards. Stamp can also be seen in George Lucas' global blockbuster Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) as Chancellor Finis Valorum; Frank Oz's Bowfinger (1999) opposite Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy; and Red Planet (2000) opposite Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore.

In recent years, Stamp has completed the features Ma femme est une actrice (2001, aka My Wife Is An Actress) for Timothy Burrill Productions; My Boss's Daughter (2003) opposite Ashton Kutcher; Disney's The Haunted Mansion (2003), opposite Eddie Murphy, and Elektra (2005), opposite Jennifer Garner.

 Superman roles

Terence Stamp has portrayed Kryptonian super-villain General Zod in Richard Donner's Superman (1978). Stamp went on to reprise his role as General Zod in the sequel, Superman II (1980), directed by Richard Lester. In 2003, Stamp returned to the Superman mythos in a new role, by providing the voice of Clark Kent's father, Jor-El, in the WB\CW television series Smallville (2001-present).