The humble integrity of the man who played Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons

"Scofield himself was baptized into the faith of his Catholic mother, although he always felt somewhat divided in spiritual matters since his father was Anglican. He was known for being 'a true country gentleman' who put his marriage, family, and home life first and never allowed the fame of his career to go to his head. A classically trained Shakespearian actor and resident of a small village in Sussex, he did not even go in person to collect his Academy Award for Best Actor. He also rejected the offer of knighthood three times, believing in the maxim 'Never the actor before the part he plays.' After his death, many of Scofield's fellow villagers knew next to nothing about his fame in the acting world, simply regarding him as one of their own, the nice old man who always supported local theater productions. Perhaps it is this abiding combination of humility and intellectual honesty, and recognition of the important things of life that truly made him perfectly destined to bring the character of Thomas More to life on screen."

Avellina Balestri, "Silence Louder Than Words: Looking back at A Man for All Seasons," The Latin Mass: The Journal of Catholic Culture and Tradition, Vol. 26, No. 3 (Fall 2017), p. 58.