LONDON: British actor Paul Scofield, who won an Oscar for his role in "A Man For All Seasons," has died at the age of 86, his agent said Thursday.

Scofield died peacefully in a hospital near his home in Sussex in southeast England, where he was being treated after being diagnosed with leukaemia.

He was considered one of the leading actors of his generation and won the Oscar in 1966 for his portrayal of the Tudor statesman Sir Thomas More in the film version of Robert Bolt's play "A Man For All Seasons."

Scofield made his name on the London stage, playing many of the greatest roles in theatre including an impressive body of Shakespeare work.

Critics described him as "monumental but reassuring" and as having a voice "rumbling up from an antique crypt."

He turned down a knighthood because he wanted to remain "plain Mister" although he was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1956 after a highly acclaimed appearance in "Hamlet" in Cold War-era Moscow.

Scofield once said: "If you want a title, what's wrong with Mister? If you have always been that, then why lose your title?"

He was born on January 21, 1922, at Hurstpierpoint in Sussex where his father was the village schoolmaster.

He left school aged 17 to began training as a professional actor and was hardly ever out of work from that day on.

He married Joy Parker, a fellow actor, in 1943.

An intensely private man, Scofield shunned the bright lights of film premieres and most recently lived a quiet life in the English countryside.

He once said: "People always ask me what I do down there, and it seems so silly. I mean, there's everything to do. There are very good walks -- I like to go walking." - AFP/ac