Stephen Boyd
Stephen Boyd (born
William Millar,
July 4,
1931 –
June 2,
1977) - was a
Northern Ireland-born actor, born in
Glengormley,
County Antrim, who starred in over fifty films.
He began in British films, but it was his role in a
1957 French film
Les bijoutiers du clair de lune (English title:
Heaven Fell That Night) opposite
Brigitte Bardot that got him noticed. He went to Hollywood and appeared as second leads in a variety of films. His role as Messala in
Ben-Hur (1959) propelled him to international fame and he was thereafter fated to play roles wearing breastplates and Roman togas, as in
Samuel Bronston's
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), in which he co-starred with
Sophia Loren.
He was originally chosen to play
Mark Antony opposite
Elizabeth Taylor in 20th Century-Fox's epic production of
Cleopatra under the direction of
Rouben Mamoulian, but eventually withdrew from the problem-plagued production when he committed to star in
The Fall of the Roman Empire (
Cleopatra was later directed by
Joseph L. Mankiewicz and the role of Mark Antony went to
Richard Burton).
Boyd also appeared in
John Huston's Biblical epic
The Bible...in the Beginning (1966) and was top-billed in another costumed epic
Genghis Khan (1965), filmed in
Yugoslavia. He appeared in the French-produced Napoleonic epic
Imperial Venus (1962), playing opposite
Gina Lollobrigida. His non-epic roles included the musical
Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) opposite
Doris Day, the
Hollywood melodrama
The Oscar (1966), the sci-fi special effects extravaganza
Fantastic Voyage (1966), the spy thriller
Assignment K (1969) and the international Western
Shalako (1969), shot in
Spain. His career declined in the 1970s and he appeared in several European potboilers before making a comeback in
Michael Apted's British
gangster thriller
The Squeeze (1977).
He died of a
heart attack at the age of 45 while playing golf.
Stephen Boyd was interred in
Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in
Chatsworth, California.
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Stephen Boyd's Gravesite
