Sir Thomas More is a canonized saint in the Catholic church. Paul Scofield was an actor who played More on stage and in a film. Your editorial tries to paint the two as one and the same. It's difficult for me to understand if your writing was about Scofield or More. One is a true saint. The other was an actor.

Now, Scofield was a superior actor, no question. But the fact that he played a role - and played it very well - has nothing to do with More, his life and his sainthood. Your editorial seems to say Scofield had the qualities of More. Not so. Catholics and many other mainstream Christians see More as a holy man. Scofield, a very good actor, was just that, an actor.

Nothing holy about Scofield, except his great film performances in Scorpio and A Man For All Seasons. In Scorpio, Scofield played a drunken Soviet spy. Nothing holy about that.

I am less certain than your editor that we want any modern Thomas More. Prior to Henry VIII becoming protestant and More becoming a martyr for the Catholic faith, More was Lord Chancellor of England. As such, he was a brutal persecutor of protestants, burned six Lutherans at the stake and imprisoned dozens more. The character in “A Man for All Seasons” may have exemplified “high-mindedness and wisdom” but the real man was far more complicated and less admirable.

I read Robert Bolt's play, "A Man for All Seasons" before the movie was made, and it has always inspired me as I have read it, and watched the movie, again and again. Paul Schofield's portrayal of Sir Thomas More was perfect and definitive, as he carried the precise balance of human-and-hero that the author created. Schofield's passing is not a time for carping about the real Thomas More. For the four decades of inspiration that I have enjoyed from Mr. Bolt's words and Mr. Schofield's performance, I am eternally grateful.

Scofield created a great moral statement in his depiction of Sir Thomas. The wisdom and courage of the character came through. That his Sir Thomas was a fictional character (admittedly unlike the real thing) is no more relevant than the fact that Hamlet and Huckleberry Finn are fictional characters. You can still be profoundly moved.

When I was going through the process to join the Catholic Church two and a half years ago, my sponsor invited me over to see "A Man for All Seasons". It was a great movie and Scofield's performance in the role of St. Thomas More truly was inspiring. I'll always associate that movie and that particlar Saint with my joining the faith. Thanks, Mr. Scofield. RIP.

Scofield's depiction of More was truly moving. May Scofield, a truly great actor, rest in peace.