Distinguished, introspective star of British stage (from the age of 14). Born David Paul Scofield, son of the village schoomaster, in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England, eight miles from the south coast of England. Scofield trained at the Croydon Repertory Theater School and London's Mask Theater School before World War II. When he married actress Joy Parker in 1943, they settled only 10 miles north of Hurstpierpoint, in the country village of Balcombe, where they reared their son and daughter and where Scofield was in easy striking distance of London's West End theaters. Barred from service in World War II for medical reasons, he toured in plays, entertaining troops and acting in repertory in factory towns around the country. Throughout the 1940s, he worked repertory and in London and Stratford in plays ranging from Shakespeare and Shaw to Steinbeck and Chekhov. In his 20s, he worked with director Peter Brook, touring as Hamlet in 1955. The collaboration included the stage adaptation of Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory in 1956, which John Gielgud regarded as Scofield's greatest performance. He made his entry into British films in 1955 as King Philip II of Spain in THAT LADY. Other notable film credits include THE TRAIN (1964), A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966), BARTLEBY (1970), KING LEAR (1971), A DELICATE BALANCE (1973), SUMMER LIGHTNING (1984), WHEN THE WHALES CAME and HENRY V (both 1989), HAMLET (1990), QUIZ SHOW (1994) and THE CRUCIBLE (1996). Scofield was an unusual star: a family man who lived almost his entire life within a few miles of his birthplace and hurried home after work to his wife and children. He didn't seek the spotlight, gave interviews sparingly, and at times seemed to need coaxing to venture out, even onto the stage he loved. But, he insisted in The Sunday Times in 1992, "my reclusiveness is a myth. ... Yes, I've turned down quite a lot of parts. At my age you need to weed things out, but the idea that I can't be bothered anymore with acting - that's quite absurd. Acting is all I can do. An actor: That's what I am." Scofield reportedly had been offered a knighthood, but declined. "It is just not an aspect of life that I would want," he once said. "If you want a title, what's wrong with 'Mr.'?" In 2001, however, he was named a Companion of Honour, one of the country's top honors, limited to 65 living people. Scofield's Academy Award® for his portrayal of Sir Thomas More in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966) made him one of the nine actors who have won a Tony® and an Oscar® for playing the same role on stage and in the film version of the play or musical. (Use this link to see the other 8.)  Actor 1966: A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role 1994: QUIZ SHOW 2 nominations, 1 Award