The Oscar-winning British actor Paul Scofield, who died today at the age 86, was widely seen as one of the finest actors of his generation - no mean feat, given that his contemporaries included Richard Burton and Alec Guinness. In 2004, a poll of such Royal Shakespeare Company luminaries as Ian McKellen, Judi Dench and Corin Redgrave voted Scofield’s 1962 Lear at Stratford - directed by Peter Brook - the greatest performance in a Shakespeare play.
Scofield was born in Sussex in 1922, At Oxford where he shared digs with Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin. He spent World War Two in touring repertory theatres playing to the troops, then immersed himself in stage acting, winning comparisons with Laurence Olivier for his rich vocal technique.
In 1960 he took on the role of Sir Thomas More in A Man For All Seasons, Robert Bolt's play about Henry VIII's chancellor. The play swiftly transferred from the West End to Broadway, where he picked up a Tony for his tour-de-force performance in 1962.
The play was then made into a film and swept the Academy Awards in 1966, garnering Oscars for Scofield (above), Bolt, director Fred Zinnemann as well as best picture. Scofield missed the ceremony. On being informed of his win and asked how he would celebrate, he replied: "Oh, I suppose my wife and I will open a bottle of champagne with another couple."
He appeared in relatively few movies, preferring the stage and radio, but was persuaded by Robert Redford to return to the screen for his 1994 film Quiz Show. He accepted a CBE in 1956, but subsequently refused a knighthood three times, claiming: "If you want a title, what's wrong with Mr? If you have always been that, then why lose your title?"
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