Stephen Boyd

Stephen Boyd
Boyd in 1961
Born
William Millar

(1931-07-04)4 July 1931
Died2 June 1977(1977-06-02) (aged 45)
Northridge, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeOakwood Memorial Park Cemetery
OccupationActor
Years active1955–1977
Spouses
Mariella di Sarzana
(m. 1958; div. 1959)
Elizabeth Mills
(m. 1974)
PartnerMarisa Mell (1970–1972)

William Millar (4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977), better known by his stage name Stephen Boyd, was an actor from Northern Ireland. He emerged as a leading man during the late 1950's with his role as the villainous Messala in Ben-Hur (1959), a role that earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. He received his second Golden Globe nomination for the musical Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962).

Boyd also appeared, sometimes as a hero and sometimes as a malefactor, in the major big-screen productions The Man Who Never Was (1956), The Night Heaven Fell (1958), The Bravados (1958), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Genghis Khan (1965), Fantastic Voyage (1966), The Bible: In the Beginning... (also 1966) and Shalako (1968).