Editing Paul Scofield (section)

===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]]''.