Despite his fame as one of the world's greatest actors, Scofield remained the quiet man of Mid Sussex, an anonymous figure who even at the peak of his career could pass unrecognised in the street.

He remained a very private man "off stage".

Born in Hurstpierpoint he was the son of Harry Scofield, a headmaster who taught at the village school and later in Handcross. Paul, brother Jack and sister Mary went to their father's school where they knew him as `sir.'

His agent Rosalind Chatto confirmed that he died on Wednesday, after living with leukaemia and not being well for some time.

Known for his great Shakespeare roles, Scofield captured an Academy Award for best actor in 1967 for the film A Man for All Seasons but stage acting remained his first love.

At Balcombe he remained the quiet self-effacing family man, married to the actress Joy Parker, who, when not working, liked to take the dog out and make his own bread.

His official biographer, Gary O'Connor, described him as: "A remarkable human being, fundamentally serious about his work, without envy or jealousy, able to direct on to what he chooses an innate simplicity and directness of purpose."

Scofield leaves a wife, son ,and daughter.

TRIBUTES:

Mark Gale, Mid Sussex Times theatre critic, writes:
MY passion for the theatre was ignited by seeing Paul Scofield's Hamlet at the Theatre Royal, Brighton. As an awkward teenager I wasn't particularly interested in going but my mother who could remember him as a baby in a pram put down a three-line whip.
"He comes from Hurstpierpoint (where we lived) so we're going," she declared, "besides your uncle and aunt were taught at the village school by his dad." It seemed like a funny reason for going but we did and such was the impact of his remarkable performance that I have been addicted to theatre ever since.
Fortunately I was able to see most of Scofield's major performances down the years and he was the only one to match Laurence Olivier for charisma and the ability to bury himself fathoms deep in a role. They were the opposite sides of a golden coin.
In Ring Round the Moon he split himself down the middle to become two identical twins, one shy and likeable the other cocksure and bombastic. One man would go off and the other come on. It was truly remarkable and made him a West End star as well as a classical one.
Much has been written of his King Lear, but his Hamlet, Richard II and Timon of Athens were just as brilliant and well conceived. He was never afraid to take risks and in one play I remember he made his first entrance on a bicycle.
My one claim to fame was that I once got a rare interview with Scofield who seldom gave one. I got it through his father who I used to travel with on the train to Haywards Heath when he was headmaster of Handcross school.
When I met the actor at his home in Balcombe, I was somewhat overawed by the occasion but he he listened to my rather contrived questions in kindly fashion and answered them in some detail.
I left in a daze.
After winning the Academy Award for Best Actor with Thomas More in Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons, he used part of his trophy as a stop for his front gate. But one of the many sightseers who came for a peep at the actor's comfortable but modest home, pinched it.
'Sco' as they all called him in the profession seemed to think it was a huge joke. There was no pomposity about him just a rather awesome inner conviction and tranquility.
Despite his fame and huge critical success the remarkable thing about him was that he could go out and be unrecognised. I remember seeing him buy a book in Haywards Heath and the young assistant had no idea she had sold it to King Lear. "Paul Scofield?" she asked. "Who's he?"
The actor would have loved that.
Scofield jealously guarded his private life. He was happily married and at Balcombe liked to make bread and walk the dog. Garry O'Connor's biography doesn't have a line of scandal in it because there was none in the player king's life. Just dedication to his art and he made acting a true art.
He really was an actor for all seasons.

Leslie Fairweather writes:
PAUL Scofield, who died on March 19, aged 86, was acclaimed as the outstanding actor of his generation.
He was noted particularly for his performances of the great Shakespearian roles, especially King Lear, but also for a wide range of Restoration and contemporary plays. He won OSCAR and BAFTA Awards for best actor in the film A Man for All Seasons, plus many other drama awards.
He was a private man who never courted celebrity, and only rarely granted interviews. He was awarded a CBE in 1956 and was made a CH in 2001. He always rejected the offer of a Knighthood.
But there was another side to his character: his great love of rural peace and the natural world of the Sussex countryside (which he did much to protect), and of his home in Balcombe. He was born in Hurstpierpoint as one of three children of a village schoolmaster. In 1943 he married his wife Joy, herself a fine actress, and they have two children Martin and Sarah.
Paul contributed significantly to the cultural life of the village and would always use his talents where he believed in the cause. He performed readings at Balcombe School to help raise funds for their library.
He collaborated in the Victory 50 celebrations in July 1995 by narrating the commentary in the audio-visual show Balcombe in Wartime.
I, personally, was grateful for his readings of scripture and poetry in our presentation of A Celebration of Mary for the Millenium Patronal Festival in the church.
More recently he was Hon President of The Victory Players. He recorded for them the poems which began and ended Oh What a Lovely War and was scrupulous in his rehearsal to get it just right. He was humble enough, at the end, to ask the producer Jim Knight, "Was that OK or is there any other way you'd like me to do it?" Jim was astonished. Here was one of the greatest actors of the 20th century asking his advice! Jim commented: "If there's a nicer man, I haven't met him yet."
And that sums up Paul's character by everybody else who knew him in Balcombe (and I suspect everywhere else). He was naturally graceful and kind: a truly Gentle Man.
I sat next to him at a performance by the Victory Players and asked his opinion at the end. He was reluctant to give even a hint of critisism but merely said: "We must encourage enthusiastic amateurs all we can."
Paul was much liked and admired in Balcombe, not just for his great acting ability, but also for what he gave to the village. We in our turn tried our best to respect his privacy.
We offer our sympathy to Joy and her family.

Robin Williamson, chairman of Balcombe Parish Council and of amateur dramatics group the Victory Players, of which Paul Scofield was Honorary President, writes:
PAUL Scofield was a great and well loved village resident.
He was a private man, and we respected his privacy. But he was very much a part of our community – we encountered him on walks in the countryside and in the village shops.
He was always ready to support worthy projects – here are a few examples of ways in which he contributed to village life.
Some 25 years ago he and his wife Joy gave a wonderful evening of poetry readings in support of the primary school's new library.
In 2000 he took part in a "Celebration of Mary" at our parish church, written by a local resident, Leslie Fairweather, when again he and Joy read poems and bible passages.
In 2004 our local amateur dramatic society, the Victory Players, was launched with a performance of "Oh What a Lovely War". Paul Scofield recorded First World War poems which were read at the start and end of the performance – and he did so with such grace and kindness, taking as much care as if this was a West End performance.
He kindly agreed to become our Honorary President, and came regularly to our subsequent productions.
A personal memory, shared by many others, is getting off the train at Balcombe station after seeing him on stage in London, to find him getting off the same train, and exchanging cheerful remarks about his performance!

Ian Payne, of Thornbury Road, Walsall, writes:
I AM sad to hear about Paul Scofield's death.
Paul was a great actor who was probably more akin to the type of actor representing the style of Sir Ralph Richardson, Sir John Gielgud, Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir Godfrey Tearle and Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
My friend, who is related to Sir Godfrey Tearle, received a letter from Paul last year and called him a "real gentleman".
He was a real gentleman and it is now sadly an end of an era, where we will not see his ilk again on any stage.
He gave us the best of British and he may not have wanted a knighthood, but he was a 'Sir' of the stage and screen to many people over the years!
May he Rest In Peace.