Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (born
January 21,
1922) is an English
actor who was born in
Sussex. Scofield is not well-known to cinema-goers, despite having won the
Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in
A Man for All Seasons (
1966). He began his stage career in
1940, and was soon being compared with
Laurence Olivier. Although his range is considerable, he has tended to be selective, preferring classical roles to those which might have won him more popular acclaim. He has won several awards for his stage appearances, including a Tony for the original stage version of
A Man for All Seasons, and was Salieri in the original stage production of
Amadeus in
1979. In
1994 he starred in
Quiz Show, a film directed by
Robert Redford about the quiz show scandal in the United States in the
1950s. Scofield played Mark Van Doren, father of
Charles Van Doren, the man at the center of the scandal. He was appointed
CBE in
1956 and became a
Companion of Honour in
2001.