Judi Dench Leads Tributes To Late Actor Scofield.

23-03-2008 08:50

"I can say on their behalf that they're relieved to acknowledge their real selves publicly. Mike Mills said, and I quote, 'It was time to step out of the fog, fag, fog... the fog of uncertainty and into the light of light.'" Judi Dench Leads Tributes To Late Actor Scofield....

Dame Judi Dench has led the tributes to late Oscar-winning actor Paul Scofield who died on Thursday (20Mar08).The English star of screen and stage - who won an Academy-Award in 1966 for his portrayal of Sir Thomas More in A Man For All Seasons - died after a long battle with leukaemia. He was 86.Dench - who starred with Scofield in Kenneth Branagh's 1989 Oscar-winning film Henry V - was shocked to hear the news, stating, "He was a great friend and a great man".

Revered British actor Simon Callow has described Schofield as "one of the greatest actors in the world".He adds, "He had a charisma, a hypnotism, a kind of spell that he cast on an audience, which was an extraordinary thing to negotiate as a young actor. He was an absolutely towering actor".Famed for his distinctive voice, Scofield rejected the offer of a knighthood on three occasions, but was awarded a Cbe (Commander of the Order of The British Empire) in 1956 and became a Companion of Honour in 2001.