Stephen Boyd (4 July 19312 June 1977) was an actor. He was born in Northern Ireland. He appeared in stage productions in the U.S. and Canada before breaking into English movies in 1955. Four years later, he played "Messala" in "Ben-Hur" (1959) opposite Charlton Heston. Gore Vidal, who did uncredited work on the screenplay, wanted to give "Messala" a homosexual slant. He convinced director William Wyler and Boyd that the bitter hatred between the two characters was the result of a gay relationship gone wrong. Heston was furious about this gay angle when he found out about it years later. Boyd won a Golden Globe for his performance in "Ben-Hur".