Stephen Boyd (4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977), born William Millar, was an Irish-born actor from Glengormley, Northern Ireland, who appeared in 60 films, most notably in the role of Messala in the 1959 film Ben-Hur.
Boyd was discovered by actor Michael Redgrave while working as a hotel doorman. He began in British films---notably as an edgy Irish spy in the 1955 World War II film The Man Who Never Was---but it was his role in a 1957 French film The Ni...
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Stephen Boyd (4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977), born William Millar, was an Irish-born actor from Glengormley, Northern Ireland, who appeared in 60 films, most notably in the role of Messala in the 1959 film Ben-Hur.
Boyd was discovered by actor Michael Redgrave while working as a hotel doorman. He began in British films---notably as an edgy Irish spy in the 1955 World War II film The Man Who Never Was---but it was his role in a 1957 French film The Night Heaven Fell opposite Brigitte Bardot that got him noticed. He went to Hollywood and appeared as second leads in a variety of films, including The Bravados (1958) and The Best of Everything (1959). His role as Messala in Ben-Hur (1959) propelled him to international fame and he was thereafter fated to play roles wearing Roman armour and togas, as in Samuel Bronston's The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), in which he co-starred with Sophia Loren. He received a Golden Globe for his performance in Ben-Hur.
In 1962 Boyd appeared in the film Lisa...
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