Daily News from New York, New York • 81

Thursday? April 14. 988 3 EXTRA NTERTAI NMENTC arc feMD9 Unas CO DAILY NEWS Jim uiiiium i mm, m- ni" 1 in 1 1 By NANCY MILLS ONDON AMERICANS LIKE their English actors to be grand. Imaybe even flamboyant. And know, but you can't really know the exact nature of that terror." Scofield is selective about his work. His only other recent TV work was "Anna Karenina" with Jacqueline Bisset and Christopher Reeve.

Scofield wasn't happy with the show but he prefers not "to comment further." In another life, Scofield would have been cast as a college professor or an elder statesman. But in this lifetime -he has never wanted to be anything but an actor. What kicked it off, he says, was being cast at 13 in his all-boys school production of "Romeo and Juliet" He played Juliet in blond pigtails. THE ATTIC: THE HIDING OF ANNE FRANK: Mary Steenburgen (I.) and Paul Scofield TT ii ii i vi m-jii tttpm (fid most particularly, they like them to come to Hollywood and maybe even fall In love with a local girl. Richard Burton fulfilled all these requirements admirably.

His contemporary, Paul Scofield, did not The two men were good friends and rivals on the London stage before Burton answered the Hollywood call, became a superstar, married Elizabeth Taylor twice and died young. Scofield stayed home, pursued his craft mostly on stage, married once, and, despite the fact he has never set foot In Hollywood, received an Oscar for "A Man for All Seasons" in 1968. Scofield is 66, and for the last three decades has been regarded as the top British stage actor of his generation. But because he rarely gives interviews, little is known about him apart from the basics: His father was a school principal; he has been married for 45 years to actress Joy Parker; they have two children and two grandchildren. 'privacy is something hard to come by in our business, and if you want it you have to fight for it," Scofield says over tea and scones in a quiet London hotel dining room.

But Scofield has something to sell these Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank," a TV movie airing Sunday (Ch. 2, 9-11 p.m.). Scofield plays Otto Frank, Anne's father. The production is based on "Anne Frank Remembered," a book by Miep Gies. Gies (played by Mary Steenburgen) helped the families hide in an attic for two years.

Scofield says he accepted the role of Otto Frank with some apprehension: "It seems presumptuous and almost impossible to put oneself in his shoes. You've got to feel that you UL All Showrooms Participating in Celebration! iSi Since then, he has taken on most of the other big parts in Shakespeare and also originated the role of Salieri in "Amadeus." the part which won an Oscar for F. Murray Abraham. Recently he spent a year starring in the London production of "I'm Not Rap-paport" "That was exhausting," he says, "so I've decided to give the theater a rest" His next project will be a film, "Why the Whales Came." HE FACT THAT MANY YOUNG people are unfamiliar with his work doesn't bother Scofield. "The kind of actor you are is dictated by the kind of person you are," he believes.

"I'm going to overstate this, but if you tend to be the film-star-type of actor, every performance is a repetition of what's been done before. Cary Grant, for instance, knew how to use himself and how to behave in a kind of way that was interesting. "I don't intend to denigrate it That kind of acting is definitely more lucrative, no question about it You create an image the public wants to see again. But for another kind of actor, that approach doesn't get you very far into exploring other characters." (Nancy Mills is a frequent contributor to The News.) single cscn PCnSSLSS gxsoi MAGNUM steel stcuRrrr STORM DOORS The Highest Quality Ornamental Iron Storm Door Available Huge Selection ot Styles and Colors i fl kit From 'Basket Case' to 'Brain Damage' "in MAGNUM 33 ENTRAMCE DOOR SYSTEM Exclusive Patented Features moK Door the Absolute UMimate Style and Security Thousonds or Style and Conors to Perfectly Compliment yoyr Mom By PHANTOM OF THE MOVIES Iff WAS BACK IN 1981 TIIAT fledgling film maker Frank Henen-lotter wrapped his debut feature, EXCLUSIVE MACf.UM CKYSTA1UER V5 SSRIES AM the Features of the Famous 4 MACNUMxinsuutis caxace doors MAGNUM 33 plus the Elegant Look of Beautiful Leaded Oloss at a rrachon ot the Cost) II I II (f WHjXYOU 6ET ABOUT SECURITY MAGNUM CUSTOM WINDOW GUARDS ft RAILINGS Custom mode for Secure Fit Beauty and Security with MAGNUM Quality. MAGNUM 44 in 1 1 i'i Interlocking tV Thick Insulated Panels New, Too Qrf'y Trocks and Hollers Beautiful Finish Many Styles and Cotors Awailobie Automafk Door Openers Available rSECURITECH'S 4-WAY A I MUl-T-LOCX PJltNltO FUTuRtS BUY4, GET! Four Steel Bolts are engaged into a steel frame for Maximum Security ti Visit One of Our Elegant "Basket Case," a touching tale of sibling rivalry between a young man and his sawed-off killer-mutant Siamese twin.

The $35,000 flick opened eyes along the midnight-movie circuit with its unique blend of macabre wit and cheap but effective chills, and today it enjoys a popular video afterlife. Now, after a nearly seven-year screen absence, the brain behind "Basket Case" is back with "Brain Damage," the tender story of a boy (Rick Herbst) and his parasite, an ancient creature, who supplies his host with blissful hallucinations in exchange for the brains of those unfortunate strangers he coerces the kid into killing. It opens at very setect local bijous tomorrow. And how has Henenlotter passed his between-screen time? "Turning down offers to make bad movies for no money, mostly," the independent auteur insists. Instead of resorting to celluloid hack work, the writer-director and his producer partner, Edgar levins, spent years trying to raise funds for their own projects.

Their perseverance finally paid off when Cinema Group put up $1.5 million for "Brain Damage." Unlike "Basket Case," lensed under chaotic conditions over roughly a year's worth of weekends, "Brain Damage" enjoyed the luxuries of an MAGNUM A HEAVY DUTY WNYl REPLACEMENT WINDOWS rrrrrprmvnrrrrrsrrrt rrinrrrrinnra a vm rrmi rrta i FREE 24hr SHOP-AT-HOME SERVICE Insulated Glass Stainless Steel Balances Security Locks i call now! 718-670-5800 Custom i.zes fsEBSD 516-595-1000 miimnimiiiimiiun Boys and Bows also Available YUMMY! A scene from "Brain Damage" eight-week shooting sked, state-of-the-art editing facilities and the participation of several top FX experts. For Henenlotter, it was worth the wait Damage looks like a' movie," he exults. "Like it was filmed with real equipment" The director describes "Brain Damage" as an entry in the "contemporary LSDmonster-movie genre. On second thought," he reconsiders, "I guess there's no such thing. Let's just say it's a bizarre monster movie." And while he refuses to predict how his new film might fare at the box office, he hopes he doesn't have to wait seven more years before getting his next project off the ground.

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