16 Sep 2012
Richard Burton’s diaries have just been published and what joy it was to discover this entry on 2 November 1971 about my friend and patron Paul Scofield. It says so much about Paul – and so much about Burton! “Why do the audience look at Paul Scofield and not me? He walks like a pimp, he’s got a patently false voice, he’s elephant-arsed and thin chested and minute-shouldered and here stand I the shining and superb son of a hundred earls and yet they look at Scofield and his apology for acting.” I’ve no idea what performance it refers to and the internet doesn’t help, but it’s a discovery of sheer bliss!