January 21st of this year would have been the centenary birth of a legend among Shakespearean actors who shied away from the limelight. His filmography is not as large as many others because of his devotion to the stage, but when his screen performance is viewed, you are watching a man who pours everything into his character unlike many others. The results from his performances includes the Triple Crown of acting, which was won in a period of just seven years. That man is Paul Scofield, who died in 2008, aged 86.
Scofield was adored by his contemporaries for his powerful personality on and off-stage, engaging himself perfectly in any role for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and in his screen presence. Unlike other celebrities, though, Scofield did not seek press coverage and avoided extra-curricular events outside from acting. It was strictly a job, and when he finished his performance for the night, Scofield hopped on the first train back home. Scofield lived with his family in Balcombe, a village outside London and only wanted roles closest to the train station so he could catch the last train back.
By his admission, Scofield was not successful in school and it was when he found Shakespeare that his calling was heard. Medically discharged from serving in World War II, he was permitted to pursue acting full-time. In his early performances, Scofield was recognized as a rising star, even being compared to Shakespearean master of the time, LaurenceOlivier. When Olivier was making Hamlet as a movie in 1948, it was Scofield playing the titular role on stage. He later tackled Richard III, Macbeth, and Much Ado About Nothing, all directed by John Gielgud. It was only in 1954 that Scofield made his screen debut opposite Olivia de Havilland in That Lady in which he played Phillip II of Spain.
It was in the 1960s that Scofield became a worldwide name in entertainment, namely for one singular role that defined his legacy. In Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons, he played Sir Thomas More, the close associate of King Henry VIII who rejected his break from the Catholic Church and was persecuted for it. The movie version saw Scofield opposite Orson Welles and newcomer John Hurt, who said Scofield’s stage performance finally confirmed his belief that acting was for him. Scofield would win both the Tony and the Academy Award for both versions of A Man For All Seasons (the latter directed by Fred Zinneman in 1966, which would also win Best Picture), one of several to win both awards for the same role. In 1969, Scofield would win an Emmy for his performance in Male of the Species. Scofield did not attend any awards ceremony to pick up any of his prizes.
Also in the 1960s was Scofield’s much publicized trip to Moscow with the RSC to perform King Lear, which he performed in 1962 to critical acclaim. The performance in front of the Russian audience was adored and in 2004, a poll taken within the RSC named Scofield’s Lear as the greatest Shakespearean performance. Another major stage role was Peter Schaffer’s Amadeus as Salieri, the jealous rival of Mozart that would later be adapted for the screen successfully; this time, Scofield wasn’t cast and his role was played by F. Murray Abraham, who ended up winning an Oscar. His last screen performance was the 1996 adaptation of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in which he plays Judge Danforth investigating witchcraft, playing the persecutor in a stark contrast to Sir Thomas More who was persecuted.
Three times, Paul Scofield was offered a knighthood, and three times he turned it down. He had a similar reaction to Hollywood, as he rejected the temptation of moving stateside and getting caught up in the glitz and glamor. Scofield rarely gave interviews and slowed down in his eighties, not pursuing fame onward until his passing. “As you get older, the more you know, the more nervous you become. The risks are much bigger,” Scofield remarked upon taking his last major stage performance aged 75, a revival of the Norwegian play John Gabriel Borkman. Pure acting without any methods, sincerity in every role he filled regardless of medium, a distinctive voice to not be forgotten, and a legacy of natural talent to be admired. This is what Paul Scofield left behind to those who have watched one of his performances.
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