Stephen Boyd (4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977) was an actor from Glengormley, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He appeared in some 60 films, most notably as "Messala" in Ben-Hur.

Biography

Boyd was born William Millar in 1931. One of nine siblings, he attended Ballyclare High School. He starred in a radio play in Belfast and worked at a cinema in London. He is said to have busked outside the cinema to get money. He began acting in British films, notably as an edgy Irish spy working for the Germans, in the World War II film The Man Who Never Was (1956). It was his role in a 1957 French film, The Night Heaven Fell opposite Brigitte Bardot which gained him critical and public attention.

He went to Hollywood and appeared as 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. In 1962 Boyd appeared in the film Lisa opposite starlet Dolores Hart. He later played another Roman leader 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. He was originally chosen to play Mark Antony opposite Elizabeth Taylor in 20th Century-Fox's epic production of Cleopatra (1963) 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 Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962), Genghis Khan (1965), The Bible: In the Beginning (1966), The Oscar (1966), Fantastic Voyage (1966),
Shalako (1968), and Assignment K (1969).

Author Joe Cushnan (Stephen Boyd: From Belfast To Hollywood) quotes from a letter from film producer Euan Lloyd (who produced such films as Shalako, The Man Called Noon and The Wild Geese), stating: Stephen Boyd was one of the nicest, kindest people I have met in my lifetime, rare in this profession.

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