Paul Scofield, British Actor, Dies at 86
By BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE
Published: March 21, 2008
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Paul Scofield, the renowned British actor who created the indelible role of Sir Thomas More in Robert Bolt’s “Man for All Seasons” and then recreated it on film in 1966 with an Oscar-winning performance, died on Wednesday near his home in southern England. He was 86.
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But the role that brought Mr. Scofield international renown was that of Sir Thomas More in “A Man for All Seasons,” which opened in London in 1960. The mix of moral strength, intelligence, melancholy and wily grace he brought to Henry VIII’s principled but ultimately disgraced Lord Chancellor won him a Tony Award for his Broadway debut in the role in the 1961-62 season. That was followed by an Academy Award as best actor when Mr. Zinnemann directed him in the movie version of the play in 1966.
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I wish I could have seen him in the play. The movie was one of those events that changed me. I “knew” from many years of “Catholic School” about the story of Sir Thomas Moore. But, his portrayal in the movie made it “real”. The quiet valor of the hopeless struggle. It taught me that it really doesn’t matter if you win or lose. In the end, we are all dead. But it does matter how you play the game. How you acquit yourself. The panache used in daily life.
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Reinke Faces Life 