Paul Scofield with Leo McKern in A Man For All Seasons
Everybody has a different approach to acting, and to acting careers. These days it's not uncommon for earnest young thespians to begin in advertising, in television soap operas or even by making a name for themselves as pop stars or models. For Paul Scofield it was all very different. His work as an actor was firmly rooted in the great traditions of the theatre and his hard-earned credentials bore fruit when he delivered some of the greatest performances of the age. Not bad for a boy who started out on stage as Juliet.
Born in Sussex, in 1922, Scofield fell in love with acting at an early age and determined to make it his career. At just 17 he began his formal studies in the Croydon Repertory Theatre School, progressing to the London Mask Theatre School the following year and immediately making an impression on audiences with his assured stage performances.
He was particularly noted for his Shakespearean work - he would go on to be widely acclaimed as the silver screen's greatest ever King Lear - and he stood out because of his intensity and powerful voice. Though he was offered many roles, he was always very careful about his choices, so it was not until 1955 that he took on his first film role, as the Spanish King Philip II in That Lady. It was an impressive turn but not a massive hit, and he continued to focus on theatre. Five years later he would become enormously popular with another historical role as Sir Thomas More in A Man For All Seasons, which played to sell-out audiences in London and on Broadway before being adapted for film in 1966. Winning him both an Oscar and a Tony, it marked him out as one of the leading heavyweight actors of his generation.
Scofield maintained a commanding screen presence throughout his life, also enjoying roles in such diverse works as The Ambassadors, Quiz Show (which garnered him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination) and The Crucible. He was Charles VI of France opposite Kenneth Branagh's Henry V and he was the Ghost in Mel Gibson's Hamlet. In the theatre, he was instrumental in the development of the Royal Shakespeare Company, for which work he eventually accepted a CBE, having twice turned down a knighthood. He also made a number of highly regarded dramatic radio recordings and contributed his vocal talents to films such as Robinson In Space and the 1999 version of Animal Farm.
Paul Scofield died on March 19, aged 86, following a long battle with leukaemia. Fellow performer Simon Callow remarked sadly that he had been "one of the greatest actors in the world."
