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| Acting great Paul Scofield dies | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Paul Scofield, one of Britain's most acclaimed Shakespearean actors and an Academy Award winner, has died at the age of 86, his agent has said. | |
| Scofield won the Oscar for best actor in 1967 for A Man for All Seasons, and was also nominated in 1995 for best supporting actor for Quiz Show. | Scofield won the Oscar for best actor in 1967 for A Man for All Seasons, and was also nominated in 1995 for best supporting actor for Quiz Show. |
| "He was a great friend and a great man," actress Dame Judi Dench said. | "He was a great friend and a great man," actress Dame Judi Dench said. |
| The actor died peacefully on Wednesday in a hospital near his Sussex home, his agent Rosalind Chatto said. | The actor died peacefully on Wednesday in a hospital near his Sussex home, his agent Rosalind Chatto said. |
| "He had leukaemia and had not been well for some time," she added. | "He had leukaemia and had not been well for some time," she added. |
| He had a kind of extraordinary physical warmth, almost literally like being near a fire Simon Callow The British-born actor started his stage career in 1940. | |
| In 2004, Scofield's portrayal of King Lear in 1962 was voted the greatest performance in a Shakespeare play by a panel of Royal Shakespeare Company actors, including Sir Ian McKellen, Ian Richardson and Sir Antony Sher. | |
| "Of the 10 greatest moments in the theatre, eight are Scofield's," the actor Richard Burton once said. | "Of the 10 greatest moments in the theatre, eight are Scofield's," the actor Richard Burton once said. |
| Actor Simon Callow, who starred opposite Scofield in the play Amadeus in 1979, paid tribute to "one of the greatest actors in the world". | |
| "He had a kind of extraordinary physical warmth, almost literally like being near a fire, in a way that I have almost never experienced with another actor. It was a sort of blaze," he told BBC Radio 4's The World At One. | |
| Scofield was simply one of the greats, creating landmark performances of all the great Shakespeare roles Gregory DoranRoyal Shakespeare Company | |
| "He had a charisma, a hypnotism, a kind of spell that he cast on an audience, which was an extraordinary thing to negotiate as a young actor. | |
| "He was an absolutely towering actor." | |
| The Royal Shakespeare Company's chief associate director Gregory Doran said: "Scofield was simply one of the greats, creating landmark performances of all the great Shakespeare roles at Stratford, from Hamlet to Macbeth to Lear." | |
| Scofield won his Oscar in 1967 for playing Sir Thomas More in the film of the life of the 16th Century Lord Chancellor. | |
| He was also nominated for five Baftas, winning three times, including one for A Man for All Seasons. | He was also nominated for five Baftas, winning three times, including one for A Man for All Seasons. |
| Scofield played Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons | |
| His other Bafta wins came for his film debut in That Lady in 1956 and for The Crucible, which co-starred Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, 40 years later. | His other Bafta wins came for his film debut in That Lady in 1956 and for The Crucible, which co-starred Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, 40 years later. |
| Scofield used his Shakespearean skills on screen as King Lear in the 1972 film and alongside Dame Judi in Kenneth Branagh's Henry V in 1989. | |
| His TV work included the BBC's £4m adaptation of Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit in 1994 and he was also a familiar voice in radio dramas. | His TV work included the BBC's £4m adaptation of Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit in 1994 and he was also a familiar voice in radio dramas. |
| class="lp" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/default.stm">HAVE YOUR SAYPaul Scofield was a towering genius of a performer who had everything a theatrical elder statesman should havePaddy, AberystwythSend us your comments | |
| Scofield was appointed a CBE in 1956 but he was thought to have rejected attempts to give him a knighthood. | Scofield was appointed a CBE in 1956 but he was thought to have rejected attempts to give him a knighthood. |
| "If you want a title, what's wrong with Mr?" he once said. "If you have always been that, then why lose your title? But it's not political. I have a CBE, which I accepted very gratefully." | "If you want a title, what's wrong with Mr?" he once said. "If you have always been that, then why lose your title? But it's not political. I have a CBE, which I accepted very gratefully." |
| But in the New Year's Honours for 2001, he was made a Companion of Honour. | But in the New Year's Honours for 2001, he was made a Companion of Honour. |
| People are made a Companion of Honour for work of national importance and there are only 65 members at any one time. | People are made a Companion of Honour for work of national importance and there are only 65 members at any one time. |
| Scofield leaves his widow, the actress Joy Parker, a son and a daughter. | Scofield leaves his widow, the actress Joy Parker, a son and a daughter. |