Paul Scofield
The fastest Triple Crown winner and a Shakespearean legend.
David Paul Scofield, born on 21 January 1922 in Edgbaston, Birmingham, was an English actor whose career spanned six decades. He is one of only a handful of performers to have won the Triple Crown of Acting—an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award—and he did so in just seven years, a record that still stands. Though widely regarded as one of the finest Shakespearean actors of his time, Scofield turned down a knighthood three times (in 1968, 1974, and 1987). He did accept a CBE in 1956 and was made a Companion of Honour in 2001. Scofield’s early life was marked by religious confusion. His father was Anglican, his mother Roman Catholic, and he was baptised into her faith. As he later put it, “some days we were little Protestants and, on others, we were all devout little Catholics,” adding that this left him with “a lack of direction in spiritual matters.” He described himself as a “dunce” at school until, at age twelve, he discovered Shakespeare at Varndean School in Brighton. “They did one of his plays every year, and I lived just for that,” he recalled. In 1939, at seventeen, he left school to train at the Croydon Repertory Theatre. Shortly after the Second World War began, he was deemed unfit for military service because of crossed toes, a condition he was “deeply ashamed” of. His stage debut came in 1940, in Eugene O’Neill’s *Desire Under the Elms* at the Westminster Theatre, and he was soon compared to Laurence Olivier. After performing at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, he joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford, where he starred in a 1947 revival of *Pericles, Prince of Tyre*. The following year, he played Hamlet opposite a then-unknown Claire Bloom as Ophelia. His performance was so acclaimed that he was called “the Hamlet of his generation.” Critic J. C. Trewin noted that Scofield’s Hamlet was “a prisoner within its bounds,” and director John Harrison recalled that his delivery of “Get thee to a nunnery” was gentle rather than angry, suggesting “visions of quiet and prayer.” Bloom later wrote that she had a serious crush on Scofield during the production, but he, being happily married and a father, never so much as glanced at her or the other actresses. The production was unusual in that Scofield and Robert Helpmann alternated the title role. Scofield’s range was evident in the variety of his stage roles, from the musical *Expresso Bongo* (1958) to Peter Brook’s landmark production of *King Lear* (1962). Brook recalled in his memoir how Scofield transformed himself onstage: a small man in a black suit entered, and the cast barely recognised him. “His tall body had shrunk; he had become insignificant,” Brook wrote. Scofield also appeared in the popular film *Carve Her Name with Pride*. His most celebrated role was Sir Thomas More in *A Man for All Seasons*. He won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the 1962 Broadway production, and four years later he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1966 film adaptation. This made him one of eleven actors to receive both a Tony and an Oscar for the same role. He later won a Primetime Emmy Award for *Male of the Species* (1969). Scofield earned further acclaim for films such as *The Train* (1964), *King Lear* (1971), *A Delicate Balance* (1973), *Henry V* (1989), and *Hamlet* (1990). He played Mark Van Doren in the historical drama *Quiz Show* (1994), earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. For his portrayal of Thomas Danforth in *The Crucible* (1996), he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 1961, Scofield wrote that he did not have a “psychological approach” to acting, but rather an “intuitive” one. “For me, the totally intellectual approach is never satisfactory,” he explained.
- born
- 21 January 1922
- died
- 19 March 2008
- field
- Acting
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- Triple Crown of Acting; Shakespearean roles; A Man for All Seasons
Lore & Background
Scofield was a celebrated Shakespearean performer, widely regarded as one of the greatest of his generation. His appearance was notable for a tall, commanding presence that could be transformed on stage; director Peter Brook recalled seeing him enter a rehearsal as a small, insignificant figure in a black suit and steel-rimmed glasses, only to realize it was Scofield, whose body seemed to have shrunk as he became a new character. His defining characteristic was an intuitive, rather than intellectual, approach to acting, emphasizing identification with the role over psychological analysis. His range was vast, encompassing classical Shakespearean leads such as Hamlet and King Lear, as well as modern musicals like *Expresso Bongo*. He was born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, but his family moved to Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, when he was an infant, where his father became a headmaster. Scofield’s upbringing was divided between his Anglican father and Roman Catholic mother, a spiritual ambiguity he said stayed with him. He discovered Shakespeare at age twelve at Varndean School in Brighton, where annual school plays became his focus. After leaving school at seventeen, he trained at the Croydon Repertory Theatre. He was ruled unfit for army service during the Second World War due to crossed toes, a fact that deeply shamed him.
Reader's Guide
Scofield’s career was defined by a deep, intuitive approach to acting rather than an intellectual one, as he himself stated in 1961; he prioritized whether he could identify with a character and whether he liked the play. This philosophy underpinned his celebrated versatility, which ranged from a musical like *Expresso Bongo* to Peter Brook’s stark production of *King Lear*. In that production, Brook recalled Scofield’s startling physical transformation: the actor, normally tall, seemed to shrink into an insignificant figure, entirely possessed by the new character. Scofield’s early Hamlet at Stratford in 1948 earned him the title “the Hamlet of his generation”; critics noted his gentle delivery of “Get thee to a nunnery,” which suggested quiet prayer rather than rage, and his portrayal of a prince imprisoned within Elsinore’s confines. His performance opposite Claire Bloom was so reserved that Bloom, who had a crush on him, found he never glanced at any actress, being happily married. Scofield’s stage work also included the Broadway hit *A Man for All Seasons*, for which he won a Tony, and he later won an Oscar for the same role in the film adaptation, a rare feat. He declined a knighthood three times but accepted a CBE and a CH. His film roles in *The Train*, *King Lear*, *A Delicate Balance*, *Henry V*, and *Hamlet* earned acclaim, as did his supporting turn as Mark Van Doren in *Quiz Show*, which brought an Oscar nomination, and his BAFTA-winning performance as Thomas Danforth in *The Crucible*.
Did You Know?
- Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in seven years, the fastest of any actor according to the source.
- He declined a knighthood three times: in 1968, 1974, and 1987.
- He was one of eleven actors to win both a Tony and an Academy Award for the same role.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"I found at this point that effective acting wasn't what I wanted to do, that I didn't want to make effects, that I wanted, as it were, to leave an impression of a particular kind of human being." — Paul Scofield "King Lear is undoubtedly the greatest play ever written by Shakespeare — or anybody else for that matter. Hamlet is certainly great, but it doesn't contain as many elements of humanity as we see in Lear." — Paul Scofield "Oh, I suppose my wife and I will open a bottle of champagne with another couple." — Paul Scofield "I decided a long time ago I didn’t want to be a star personality and live my life out in public.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to wave personality about like a flag and become labeled." — Paul Scofield
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