Editing Paul Scofield (section)

==Career==
===1940–1959: Rise to prominence===
Scofield began his stage career in 1940 with a debut performance in American playwright [[Eugene O'Neill]]'s ''[[Desire Under the Elms]]'' at the [[Westminster Theatre]], and was soon being compared to [[Laurence Olivier]]. He played at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.  From there he went to the [[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre]] in Stratford, where he starred in [[Walter Nugent Monck]]'s 1947 revival of ''[[Pericles, Prince of Tyre]]''.<ref name="fref">[http://www.filmreference.com/film/98/Paul-Scofield.html Film Reference biography.] Access date: 16 November 2007.</ref>

In 1948, Scofield appeared as Hamlet at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford alongside a then unknown [[Claire Bloom]] as [[Ophelia]]. Scofield's performance was so highly praised that it caused him to be dubbed, "The Hamlet of his generation."<ref>Garry O'Connor, ''Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons'', Applause Books (2002), p. 70.</ref> He was also Bassanio in ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' with Bloom as an Attendee. J.C. Trewin commented, "He is simply a timeless Hamlet... None could forget Scofield's pathos, the face folded in grief, at, 'When you are desirous to be blessed, I'll blessing beg of you.' We have known many correct, almost formal Hamlets, aloof from Elsinore. Scofield was ever a prisoner within its bounds: the world had many confines, wards, and dungeons, Denmark being one of the worst."<ref>Garry O'Connor, ''Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons'', Applause Books (2002), p. 72.</ref>

John Harrison, Director of the [[Leeds Playhouse]], later recalled of Scofield's Hamlet, "'Get thee to a nunnery,' so often delivered with rage or scorn, he says so gently. You have visions of quiet and prayer. A future for Ophelia."<ref name="Garry O 2002 p. 76">Garry O'Connor, ''Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons'', Applause Books (2002), p. 76.</ref> In her later book, ''[[Leaving a Doll's House: A Memoir]]'', Claire Bloom recalls that during the production she had a very serious crush on Scofield. As Scofield "was happily married and the father of a son", Bloom hoped only "to be flirted with and taken some notice of." But Scofield never so much as glanced at Bloom or any of the other pretty actresses in the cast.<ref name="Garry O 2002 p. 76"/> Unusually, the production had two Hamlets: Scofield and [[Robert Helpmann]] took turns playing the title role and Bloom later recalled, "I could never make up my mind which of my two Hamlets I found the more devastating: the openly homosexual, charismatic Helpmann, or the charming, shy young man from Sussex."<ref>''Leaving A Doll's House'', p. 43.</ref>

Scofield's versatility at the height of his career is exemplified by his starring roles in theatrical productions as diverse as the musical ''[[Expresso Bongo]]'' (1958) and [[Peter Brook]]'s celebrated production of ''[[King Lear]]'' (1962). Brook wrote in his memoir, ''Threads of Time'', "The door at the back of the set opened, and a small man entered. He was wearing a black suit, steel-rimmed glasses and holding a suitcase. For a moment we wondered who this stranger was and why he was wandering onto our stage. Then we realised that it was Paul, transformed. His tall body had shrunk; he had become insignificant. The new character now possessed him entirely."<ref>Peter Brook, ''Threads of Time. A Memoir.'' Counterpoint, 1999.</ref>

===1960–1979: ''A Man for All Seasons'' and acclaim===
[[File:Hans Holbein, the Younger - Sir Thomas More - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|160px|Scofield portrayed Sir [[Thomas More]] in the film and stage version of ''A Man for All Seasons'']]
One of the highlights of Scofield's career in modern theatre is the role of Sir [[Thomas More]] in [[Robert Bolt]]'s ''[[A Man for All Seasons (play)|A Man for All Seasons]]'', which opened in July 1960. Scofield later referred to the part as the only time "my intuition for the part has failed me."<ref> Edited by Tony Cole and Helen Krich Chinoy (1970), ''Actors on Acting: The Theories, Techniques, and Practices of the World's Great Actors Told in Their Own Words'', Crown Publisher's, Inc. Page 421.</ref> Theatre reviewers published very harsh criticism of Scofield's performance at first, which forced him to "start from scratch and just work on facts, making myself totally faithful to what was on the page". After realizing "I had to find the way the man would feel; then I was able to find the way he should sound", and the vital importance of conveying complete sincerity and humility when "playing a man of spiritual depth", Scofield successfully developed a means of performing as Thomas More through trial and error.<ref> Edited by Tony Cole and Helen Krich Chinoy (1970), ''Actors on Acting: The Theories, Techniques, and Practices of the World's Great Actors Told in Their Own Words'', Crown Publisher's, Inc. Pages 421-422.</ref>

[[Austrian-American]] filmmaker [[Fred Zinnemann]] later recalled of seeing the play onstage, "It dealt with the sixteenth-century English statesman Thomas More, beheaded on the orders of his King, [[Henry VIII]], for refusing to sanction his marriage to [[Anne Boleyn]]. With Paul Scofield in the lead, the play was a powerful emotional experience. It dramatized the nation's unquestioning submission to the [[Absolute monarchy|absolute power]] of the king, in stark contrast to More, whose last words before the execution were, 'I die the Kings good servant, but God's first.'"<ref> Fred Zinnemann (1992), ''A Life in the Movies: An Autobiography'', Charles Scribner Sons. Page 198.</ref>

When Fred Zinnemann was first approached about directing [[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|the 1966 film adaptation]] of ''A Man For All Seasons'' by [[Columbia Pictures]] executive [[Mike Frankovich]] in 1965 and enthusiastically agreed, the studio did not wish to cast Scofield as the lead. Preferring a more internationally bankable cast, the studio desired either [[Laurence Olivier]] or [[Richard Burton]] as Thomas More, [[Alec Guinness]] as Cardinal Wolsey, and [[Peter O'Toole]] as King Henry VIII. Both Zinnemann and screenwriter [[Robert Bolt]] disagreed, however, but still went through the motions of meeting with Olivier and then informing him politely that he had not been chosen.<ref>Garry O'Connor, ''Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons'', Applause Books (2002), p. 191-192.</ref> Scofield, who was cast after Columbia grudgingly "fell in with Zinnemann's wishes", later recalled, "I was surprised and honoured to be chosen for the film, being almost unknown in the movie world... My own task was unaltered except that I now focused on my thoughts on to a camera instead of an audience."<ref> Garry O'Connor, ''Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons'', Applause Books (2002), p. 192.</ref>

Even though defying the studio's casting wishes forced him to film ''A Man For All Seasons'' on a shoestring budget, Fred Zinnemann felt very differently about Scofield and later recalled of the film shoot, "For the first few days the crew did their usual work very well, the way they would have done any job, but on the third day, when Scofield made his speech about the majesty of the law, they were suddenly mesmerized by the magic of those words and they remained that way throughout the rest of the filming. So totally did Paul convey the scope of More's character that for months afterwards I couldn't help but look at him in awe, as a saint rather than an actor."<ref> Fred Zinnemann (1992), ''A Life in the Movies: An Autobiography'', Charles Scribner Sons. Page 202-204.</ref>

[[File:The Train (1964 film) trailer 1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Burt Lancaster]] and Scofield in ''[[The Train (1964 film)|The Train]]'' (1964)]]
In 1964, Scofield acted in the [[John Frankenheimer]] war film ''[[The Train (1964 film)|The Train]]'' alongside [[Burt Lancaster]]. The film is set in August 1944 during [[World War II]], it pits [[French Resistance]]-member Paul Labiche (Lancaster) against German Colonel Franz von Waldheim (Scofield), who is attempting to move stolen art masterpieces by train to Germany. The film received positive acclaim and was ranked as one of the best films by the [[National Board of Review]]. 

Writing in 1961, Scofield explained, "Output in the theatre requires greater energy than anything else I know. Doubt of one's energy is the worst of all. One's output in the theatre requires energy of a sort that is never a factor in family life. Family energy generates itself. Social life outside the family can be exhausting. I don't care much for social life with people in the theatre. I'm rather good at being with people when I want to make the effort, but I'm bad at listening to people when I know what they're going to say. It isn't very interesting, and on the whole it's very draining. The interesting thing in the theatre is the work and working with people. I usually like the people in the work, but I can't go on with them outside the work as long as most actors can. And when I'm working on a part I'm thinking about it all the time, going over all the possibilities in my mind. I like to be alone when I'm working."<ref> Edited by Tony Cole and Helen Krich Chinoy (1970), ''Actors on Acting: The Theories, Techniques, and Practices of the World's Great Actors Told in Their Own Words'', Crown Publisher's, Inc. Pages 419-420.</ref>

In a career devoted chiefly to the classical theatre, Scofield starred in many [[Shakespeare]] plays and played the title role in [[Ben Jonson]]'s ''[[Volpone]]'' in [[Peter Hall (theatre director)|Peter Hall]]'s production for the [[Royal National Theatre]] (1977). In a 1994 interview, Scofield explained, "One of the great strengths of the theatre is that it is ephemeral. It does exist only in what you remember and you can't check up on it afterwards and think, 'That's not as good as I remember.' If any performance I've ever given stays in someone's mind that's so much more exciting than being able to put it on the video and play it again. It's not that I don't want to take risks - the opposite is true, in fact. But the more you know about acting, the more you're aware of the pitfalls and the more nerve-racking it becomes. When I was young, I wasn't nervous at all. Even doing ''Hamlet'', I just had a go."<ref>Garry O'Connor, ''Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons'', Applause Books (2002), p. 69.</ref>

Scofield also appeared as Charles Dyer in Dyer's play ''[[Staircase (play)|Staircase]]'', staged by the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] in 1966; Laurie in [[John Osborne]]'s ''A Hotel in Amsterdam'' (1968); and [[Antonio Salieri]] in the original stage production of [[Peter Shaffer]]'s ''[[Amadeus (play)|Amadeus]]'' (1979). He was subsequently the voice of the Dragon in another play by [[Robert Bolt]], a children's drama ''The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew''. ''Expresso Bongo'', ''Staircase'' and ''Amadeus'' were filmed with other actors, but Scofield starred in the screen version of ''[[King Lear (1971 UK film)|King Lear]]'' (1971). His other major screen roles include the art-obsessed [[Wehrmacht]] Colonel von Waldheim in ''[[The Train (1964 film)|The Train]]'' (1964), Strether in a 1977 TV adaptation of [[Henry James]]'s novel ''[[The Ambassadors]]'', and Tobias in [[Edward Albee]]'s ''[[A Delicate Balance (film)|A Delicate Balance]]'' (1973).

===1980–1999===
Scofield was cast in the lead role of Sir Randolph Nettleby in the 1985 film ''[[The Shooting Party]]'', but was forced to withdraw due to an injury he suffered on set. According to the DVD extras documentary for the film, Scofield and the other male lead actors were to come into shot on a horse-drawn shooting brake driven by the renowned film horse-master George Mossman as the first shot of the first day of filming. As they turned the first corner, the plank that Mossman was standing on broke in two and he was hurled forward and down, falling between the sets of wheels and taking the reins with him. He was struck by a horse's hoof and concussed. The horses shied and broke into a gallop. Actor [[Rupert Frazer]] admitted that he was the first to jump off, landing safely, but bruised. Out of control, the horses turned to the right when confronted by a stone wall, causing the shooting brake to roll completely, catapulting the actors into a pile of scaffolding that had been stacked next to the wall. [[Robert Hardy]] stood up and realised to his amazement that he was unhurt. He looked across to see [[Edward Fox (actor)|Edward Fox]] stand up, "turn completely green and collapse in a heap", having broken five ribs and his shoulder blade. He noticed that Scofield was lying very still on the ground "and I saw that his shin-bone was sticking out through his trousers". As the film takes place in October during the partridge-shooting season, the filmmakers had to make a choice whether to delay filming for a year or re-cast. The ''Shooting Party'' schedule was ultimately changed to allow [[James Mason]] to take over the part of Sir Randolph Nettleby six weeks later.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4313352.stm | work=BBC News | title=Obituary: Paul Scofield | date=20 March 2008}}</ref> Scofield's broken leg also deprived him of the part of [[O'Brien (Nineteen Eighty-Four)|O'Brien]] in ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984 film)|Nineteen Eighty-Four]],'' in which he was replaced by [[Richard Burton]].<ref>"In Conversation with Michael Radford", ''[[Sky Arts]]'' 18 October 2013</ref>

[[Helen Mirren]], who appeared with Scofield in the 1989 film ''[[When the Whales Came]]'', said, "He aspires to the soul rather than the character. He has no sense of personal ambition. He's one of our great, great actors. We're lucky to have him."<ref>O'Connor (2002), p. 300.</ref> Scofield also portrayed the [[Ghost (Hamlet)|Ghost]] in [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s [[Hamlet (1990 film)|1990 film adaptation of ''Hamlet'']] alongside [[Mel Gibson]] in the title role. Despite being an [[A-list]] actor at the time, Gibson, who had grown up idolising Scofield, compared the experience of performing Shakespeare alongside him to being "thrown into [[boxing ring|the ring]] with [[Mike Tyson]]".<ref>{{cite news |title=Paul Scofield's career highlights |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1582308/Paul-Scofields-career-highlights.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1582308/Paul-Scofields-career-highlights.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |date=20 March 2008 |access-date= 16 July 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Scofield, on the other hand, never felt similarly intimidated and later recalled about working with Gibson, "Not the actor you'd think would make an ideal Hamlet, but he had enormous integrity and intelligence."<ref> Garry O'Connor, ''Paul Scofield: An Actor for All Seasons'', Applause Books (2002), p. 302.</ref> Scofield portrayed Professor Moroi in the film of [[János Nyíri]]'s ''If Winter Comes'' (1980), for BBC Television; poet [[Mark Van Doren]] in [[Robert Redford]]'s film ''[[Quiz Show (film)|Quiz Show]]'' (1994), and Deputy Governor [[Thomas Danforth]] in [[Nicholas Hytner]]'s film adaptation (1996) of [[Arthur Miller]]'s ''[[The Crucible (1996 film)|The Crucible]]''.