Stephen Boyd Filmography

Stephen Boyd was a British actor from Ballyrobert, Ballyclare, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. He appeared in some 60 films, most notably as "Messala" in Ben-Hur. Boyd was born in 1931, one of nine siblings, as William Millar. He attended Ballyclare High School. He starred in a radio play in Belfast and worked in a cinema in London. He began acting in British films, notably as an edgy Irish spy in the World War II film The Man Who Never Was . It was his role in a 1957 French film, The Night Heaven Fell opposite Brigitte Bardot which garnered him critical and public attention. He went to... Hollywood and appeared as leads in a variety of films, including The Bravados and The Best of Everything . His role as Messala in Ben-Hur propelled him to international fame. He later played another Roman leader in Samuel Bronston's The Fall of the Roman Empire , 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 The Inspector opposite starlet Dolores Hart. The two remained friends until Boyd's death.
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