Most famed for his spectacular creation of Sir Thomas More, first on stage and then on film in A Man For All Seasons, Paul Scofield has died in his native England. The versatile, reclusive actor succumbed to leukemia at age 86.

Acclaimed as the heir to Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson on the London stage, Scofield was named by many critics as one of the best, if not the best, actor of his era. Yet unlike many of his fellow leading men, he avoided any trappings of celebrity. No high profile scandals, multiple marriages or public drinking and carousing; he lived a quiet and intensely private life.

When Hollywood called, he sometimes answered, and in addition to A Man for All Seasons, he was acclaimed for his performance with Katharine Hepburn in A Delicate Balance, and later in life played memorably in movies as diverse as Quiz Show and Mel Gibson's version of Hamlet.

But he never lived in Hollywood, and never became part of the Hollywood scene, a choice which may have limited the fame of one of the most capable and lauded British actors of the century. Here's the extensive obit in the New York Times.