George C. Scott

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Birthday:

18 October 1927, Wise, Virginia, USA

Birth Name:

George Campbell Scott

Height:

183 cm

George C. Scott was an immensely talented actor, a star of screen, stage and television. He was born on October 18, 1927 in Wise, Virginia, to Helena Agnes (Slemp) and George Dewey Scott. At the age of eight, his mother died, and his father, an executive at Buick, raised him. In 1945, he joined the United States Marines and spent four years with them, no doubt an inspiration for portraying General George S. Patton years later. When Scott left the Marines, he enrolled in journalism classes at the University of Missouri, but it was while performing in a play there that the acting bug bit him. He has said it "clicked, just like tumblers in a safe."It was in 1957 that he landed a role in "Richard III" in New York City. The play was a success and brought the young actor to the attention of critics. He soon began to get work on television, mostly in live broadcasts of plays, and he landed the role of the crafty prosecutor in Anatomy of a Murder (1959). It was this role that got him his first Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor.However, George and Oscar wouldn't actually become the best of friends. In fact, he felt the whole process forced actors to become stars and that the ceremony was little more than a "meat market." In 1962, he was nominated again for Best Supporting Actor, this time opposite Paul Newman in The Hustler (1961), but sent a message saying "No, thanks" and refused the nomination.However, whether he was being temperamental or simply stubborn in his opinion of awards, it did not seem to stop him from being nominated in the future. "Anatomy" and "The Hustler" were followed by the clever mystery The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), in which he starred alongside Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and cameos by major stars of the time, including Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra. It's a must-see, directed by John Huston with tongue deeply in cheek.The following year, Scott starred as General "Buck" Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's comical anti-war film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). This became one of his favorites and he often said that he felt guilty getting paid for it, as he had so much fun making it. Another comedy followed, The Flim-Flam Man (1967), with Scott playing a smooth-talking con artist who takes on an apprentice whom he soon discovers has too many morals.Three years followed, with some smaller television movies, before he got the role for which he will always be identified: the aforementioned General Patton in Patton (1970). This was a war movie that came at the end of a decade where anti-war protests had rocked a nation and become a symbol of youth dissatisfied with what was expected of them. Still, the actor's portrayal of this aggressive military icon actually drew sympathy for the controversial hero. He won the Oscar this time, but stayed at home watching hockey instead.A pair of films that he made in the early 1980s were outstanding. The first of these was The Changeling (1980), a film often packaged as a horror movie but one that's really more of a supernatural thriller. He plays John Russell, a composer and music professor who loses his wife and daughter in a tragic accident. Seeking solace, he moves into an archaic mansion that had been unoccupied for 12 years. However, a child-like presence seems to be sharing the house with him and trying to share its secrets with him. From learning of the house's past, he discovers its horrific secret of long ago, a secret that the presence will no longer allow to be kept.Then he starred -- along with a young cast of then largely unknowns, including Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn and Tom Cruise -- in the intense drama Taps (1981). He played the head of a military academy that's suddenly slated for destruction when the property is sold to local developers who plan to build condos. The students take over the academy when they feel that the regular channels are closed to them.Scott kept up in films, television and on stage in the later years of his life (Broadway dimmed its lights for one minute on the night of his death). Among his projects were playing Ebenezer Scrooge in a worthy television update of A Christmas Carol (1984), an acclaimed performance on Broadway of "Death of a Salesman", the voice of McLeach in Disney's The Rescuers Down Under (1990) and co-starring roles in television remakes of two classic films, 12 Angry Men (1997) and Inherit the Wind (1999), to name just a few. After his death the accolades poured in, with Jack Lemmon saying, "George was truly one of the greatest and most generous actors I have ever known," while Tony Randall called him "the greatest actor in American history". Show less «

[when asked for suggestions on how to judge acting] I have three tests. First, which dominates, the character or the actor? With very few ex...Show more »

[when asked for suggestions on how to judge acting] I have three tests. First, which dominates, the character or the actor? With very few exceptions it should be the character. Second, on film - as opposed to stage - we're pretty much playing basic emotions: love, anger, fear, pity. So the trick is whether you can come up with any fresh choices to present these common emotions. Third - and this is the quality that separates the great ones from the good ones - I look for a "joy of performing" quality. Who had that quality? As much as anyone, Jimmy Cagney [James Cagney]. Show less «

The [Academy Awards] ceremonies are a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons.

There is no question you get pumped up by the recognition. Then a self-loathing sets in when you realize you're enjoying it.

[on psychoanalysis] Four visits. I kept laughing. I couldn't get serious. If it helps you, it helps you. If standing on your head on the roo...Show more »

[on psychoanalysis] Four visits. I kept laughing. I couldn't get serious. If it helps you, it helps you. If standing on your head on the roof helps you, it helps you - if you think so. Show less «

Directors are supposed to help the audience. Good directors don't direct actors.

Bette Davis is my bloody idol. I admire her more than any other film star.

I became an actor to escape my own personality. Acting is the most therapeutic thing in the world. I think all the courage that I may lack p...Show more »

I became an actor to escape my own personality. Acting is the most therapeutic thing in the world. I think all the courage that I may lack personally, I have as an actor. Show less «

I have nothing against Oscar. I know what he stands for and it's terrific. And I think when people used to hang around and pat each other on...Show more »

I have nothing against Oscar. I know what he stands for and it's terrific. And I think when people used to hang around and pat each other on the back over a drink and dinner it was wonderful. But when it became an international hoopla, where careers lived and died on whether or not you did or didn't get an Oscar, then it got out of hand. Show less «

Actors are the world's oldest, underprivileged minority - looked upon as nothing but buffoons, one step above thieves and charlatans. These ...Show more »

Actors are the world's oldest, underprivileged minority - looked upon as nothing but buffoons, one step above thieves and charlatans. These award ceremonies simply compound the image for me. Show less «

My violent behavior is some sort of aberration, a character defect I'm not particularly proud of.

Acting changes the inner spirit. It's fulfilling, but psychologically very costly. You can't steal enough money in a lifetime to make up for...Show more »

Acting changes the inner spirit. It's fulfilling, but psychologically very costly. You can't steal enough money in a lifetime to make up for the damage. I'm ashamed for the bitterness it created in me, but it exists. Even when you're successful it's hard to rise above it. It's like a growth. Show less «

[on acting] It was the only avenue of escape I had from myself. It's never been difficult to subjugate myself to a part because I don't like...Show more »

[on acting] It was the only avenue of escape I had from myself. It's never been difficult to subjugate myself to a part because I don't like myself too well. Acting was, in every sense, my means of survival. Show less «

Film is not an actor's medium. You shoot scenes in order of convenience, not the way they come in the script, and that's detrimental to a fu...Show more »

Film is not an actor's medium. You shoot scenes in order of convenience, not the way they come in the script, and that's detrimental to a fully developed performance. There's the terrible tedium and boredom involved in waiting around for the camera to be set up, and then you have to turn on and off when they do the scene over again. When you see the rushes is the first time you begin to judge your performance. If you get 50% of what you hoped for, you're lucky. Show less «

I think you have to be schizoid three different ways to be an actor. You've got to be three different people. You have to be a human being. ...Show more »

I think you have to be schizoid three different ways to be an actor. You've got to be three different people. You have to be a human being. Then you have to be the character you're playing. And on top of that you've got to be the guy sitting out there in Row 10, watching yourself and judging yourself. That's why most of us are crazy to start with, or go nuts once we get into it. I mean, don't you think it's a pretty spooky way to earn a living? Show less «

Since childhood, the whole self-loathing thing was a big part of my makeup. Now I've learned to say, "Okay, I've screwed up." Then I try to ...Show more »

Since childhood, the whole self-loathing thing was a big part of my makeup. Now I've learned to say, "Okay, I've screwed up." Then I try to make amends. Show less «

For me, the sexiest woman on the screen ever was Joan Blondell.

[on Paul Newman] I've never thought that Paul was a particularly good actor. He's one of the sweet people of the world, an excellent produce...Show more »

[on Paul Newman] I've never thought that Paul was a particularly good actor. He's one of the sweet people of the world, an excellent producer. But I've never been a Paul Newman fan as far as acting goes. The only thing Paul's ever done I really thought was first class was Hud (1963). Show less «

[on Jack Nicholson] He's eccentric but very interesting. A unique kind of approach. He shines because he's himself a rather interesting ecce...Show more »

[on Jack Nicholson] He's eccentric but very interesting. A unique kind of approach. He shines because he's himself a rather interesting eccentric. A very fascinating actor. Show less «

[early thoughts on Patton (1970)] It's an inadequate script and it's very difficult for me. Patton was misunderstood contemporaneously and h...Show more »

[early thoughts on Patton (1970)] It's an inadequate script and it's very difficult for me. Patton was misunderstood contemporaneously and he's misunderstood here. And I'm ashamed of being a part of it. Show less «

Acting is just a matter of observation, imitation and communication. That's what it's all about.

Actors are always in trouble. A director who isn't a help is a drag.

Technique is making what is absolutely false appear to be totally true in a manner that is not recognizable.

The audience is a dark thing, a peculiar animal, an enemy that must be assaulted and won. It doesn't matter a damn what the actor does or do...Show more »

The audience is a dark thing, a peculiar animal, an enemy that must be assaulted and won. It doesn't matter a damn what the actor does or does not feel. It's what the lady down there in the blue hat is feeling. Show less «

[on training to be an actor] Much of the learning process is finding out what not to do, like indulging in excesses... method acting, where ...Show more »

[on training to be an actor] Much of the learning process is finding out what not to do, like indulging in excesses... method acting, where they all get together and act for each other in a test-tube atmosphere. Show less «

[on working with Marlon Brando on The Formula (1980)] He would drive you crazy. He does it over and over and over. Marlon would improve all ...Show more »

[on working with Marlon Brando on The Formula (1980)] He would drive you crazy. He does it over and over and over. Marlon would improve all the time. I'm not sure about the rest of us. Show less «

[on Stanley Kubrick] He is most certainly in command, and he's so self-effacing and apologetic, it's impossible to be offended by him.