Max von Sydow

Born: 1929-04-10 in Lund, Skåne län, Sweden

Died: 2020-03-08

Known For: Acting

Biography

Max von Sydow (born Carl Adolf von Sydow; April 10, 1929 – March 8, 2020) was a Swedish actor. He also held French citizenship since 2002. He starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more. He performed in films filmed in many languages, including Swedish, Norwegian, English, Italian, German, Danish, French and Spanish. Some of his most memorable film roles include knight Antonius Block in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (the first of his eleven films with Bergman and the film that includes the iconic shot of his career in the scene where he plays chess with Death), Jesus in George Stevens's The Greatest Story Ever Told, Father Merrin in Friedkin's The Exorcist, Joubert the assassin in Three Days of the Condor, and Ming the Merciless in the 1980 version of Flash Gordon. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award - Best Leading Actor for Pelle the Conqueror (1988) and Best Supporting Actor for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011).

Filmography

2026

The Resurrection of Christ

2021

Echoes of the Past as Nikolas Andreou (Aged)

2018

Kursk as Admiral Vladimir Petrenko

2017

Max von Sydow as Self (archive footage)
Tuschinski's Dream

2016

The First, the Last as Le croque-mort

2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens as Lor San Tekka

2014

I Am Divine as Self (archive)
The Letters as Celeste van Exem

2010

Shutter Island as Dr. Naehring
Robin Hood as Sir Walter Loxley
Behind the Moomins as Narrator (voice)
The Last Norwegian Troll as The Last Norweigian Troll (voice)

2009

Solomon Kane as Josiah Kane
Oscar and the Lady in Pink as Le docteur Dusseldorf
A Man and His Dog as Le commandant

2008

Emotional Arithmetic as Jakob Bronski

2007

The Tudors as Cardinal Von Waldburg
Rush Hour 3 as Varden Reynard
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly as Papinou
L'inchiesta - Anno Domini XXXIII as Tiberio
The Final Inquiry as Tiberius

2005

Heidi as Uncle Alp

2004

Ring of the Nibelungs as Eyvind
Ring of the Nibelungs as Eyvind
Hidden Children as Valobra

2002

Minority Report as Director Lamar Burgess

2001

Sleepless as Moretti
Intacto as Samuel
Druids as Guttuart

2000

Nuremberg as Samuel Rosenman
Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan' as Self
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: The Perils of Cupid as Freud
Light Keeps Me Company as Self

1999

Snow Falling on Cedars as Nels Gudmundsson

1998

What Dreams May Come as The Tracker
Professione fantasma as Psicoanalista dell’aldilà
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist as Self - Father Merrin

1997

Solomon as Davide
Hostile Waters as Admiral Chernavin
Solomon as David
La principessa e il povero as Epos
The Princess and the Pauper as Epos
Their Frozen Dream as S.A. Andrée (voice)

1996

Private Confessions as Jacob
Jerusalem as Vicar
Hamsun as Knut Hamsun
Delblanc as Narrator (voice)

1995

Judge Dredd as Chief Justice Fargo
Citizen X as Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky
Radetzky March as Baron Franz von Trotta und Sipolje
Lumière & Company as Jacob (segment "Liv Ullman")
Stjärnbilder as (archive footage)
The Atlantic as Narrator (voice)
Depth Solitude as Narrator (voice)
Captured: Meet Robert A. Robinson Photographer as Narrator (voice)

1994

A che punto è la notte as Arcivescovo di Torino
Time is Money as Joe Kaufman
Onkel Vanja as The Professor

1993

Needful Things as Leland Gaunt
Minns ni? as (archive footage)
Morfars resa as Simon S.L. Fromm
Och ge oss skuggorna as Eugene O'Neill

1992

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as Sigmund Freud
The Best Intentions as Johan Åkerblom
The Silent Touch as Henry Kesdi

1991

A Kiss Before Dying as Thor Carlsson
Europa as Narrator (voice)
Until the End of the World as Henry Farber
The Ox as Vicar
East of the Sun, West of the Moon as Narrator (voice)

1990

Awakenings as Peter Ingham
Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes as Father Siemes
The Bachelor as Von Schleheim
Cellini: A Violent Life as Pope Clement VII
Father as Joe Mueller

1989

The Simpsons as Klaus Ziegler (voice)
Ghostbusters II as Vigo (voice) (uncredited)
Red King, White Knight as Szaz
Foreign Filmmakers in Hollywood as Self

1988

Katinka ... (Director)
Ingmar Bergman: The Magic Lantern as Voice
The Human Factor

1987

Pelle the Conqueror as Lasse Karlsson - Farmhand
The Second Victory as Dr. Huber

1986

Hannah and Her Sisters as Frederick
Duet for One as Dr. Louis Feldman
The Wolf at the Door as August Strindberg
Gösta Berlings saga as Melchior Sinclaire

1985

Christopher Columbus as Re Giovanni del Portogallo
The Last Place on Earth as Fridtjof Nansen
Quo Vadis? as Petrus
The Repenter as Spinola
Code Name: Emerald as Jürgen Brausch
Kojak: The Belarus File as Peter Barak
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey as Self

1984

Dune as Doctor Kynes
Dreamscape as Paul Novotny
Samson and Delilah as Sidka
The Soldier's Tale as The Devil (voice)
Le dernier civil as Gérard Bauerle

1983

Never Say Never Again as Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Strange Brew as Brewmeister Smith
Destination Dune as Self
Circle of Passions as Carlo di Vilalfratti

1982

Conan the Barbarian as King Osric
The Flight of the Eagle as Salomon August Andrée
Let Poland Be Poland as Self - Co-Host
Target Eagle as Coronel O'Donnell
The Cinema of Carl Th. Dreyer

1981

Escape to Victory as Major Karl von Steiner
The Guldbagge Awards as Self - Best Director winner
Venetian Lies as Marcello Herrighe
She Dances Alone as Nijinsky (voice)

1980

Flash Gordon as The Emperor Ming
Death Watch as Gerald Mortenhoe

1979

Hurricane as Dr. Danielsson
A Look at Liv as Self

1978

Brass Target as Shelley Martin Webber

1977

Exorcist II: The Heretic as Father Lankester Merrin
March or Die as François Marneau
Black Journal as Lisa Carpi / Carabinieri Marshal

1976

Voyage of the Damned as Captain Schroeder
The Desert of the Tartars as Cap. Ortiz
Illustrious Corpses as Supreme Court President
Heart of a Dog as Professor Filipp Filippovich Preobrazenski
Foxtrot as Larsen

1975

Three Days of the Condor as G. Joubert
The Ultimate Warrior as Baron
Egg! Egg! A Hardboiled Story as The Father
The Broken Mirror as Matthew Lawrence

1974

The Emigrants as Karl Oskar
Steppenwolf as Harry Haller
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute as Self (archive footage)

1973

The Exorcist as Father Lankester Merrin

1972

Ingmar Bergman as Self
The New Land as Karl Oskar
Embassy as Gorenko

1971

The Emigrants as Karl Oskar
The Apple War as Roy Lindberg
The Night Visitor as Salem
The Touch as Andreas Vergerus

1970

The Kremlin Letter as Colonel Kosnov

1969

The Passion of Anna as Andreas Winkelman
Made in Sweden as Magnus Rud

1968

Hour of the Wolf as Johan Borg
Shame as Jan Rosenberg
Black Palm Trees as Gustav Olofsson
An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman as Self

1967

The Diary of Anne Frank as Otto Frank

1966

Hawaii as Abner Hale
The Quiller Memorandum as Oktober
Here Is Your Life as Smålands-Pelle

1965

The Greatest Story Ever Told as Jesus
The Reward as Scott Swenson
Interlude in the Marshland as Alex Kvist
4 x 4 as Kvist

1964

Grimme Award as Self
Dance Around the Guldbaggen as Self

1963

Winter Light as Jonas Persson

1962

Wonderful Adventures of Nils as The Father
The Mistress as The Man

1961

Through a Glass Darkly as Martin

1960

The Virgin Spring as Töre
The Wedding Day as Anders Frost

1958

The Magician as Albert Emanuel Vogler
Brink of Life as Harry Andersson
Rabies as Bo Stensson Svenningson
Spion 503 as Horst, Gestapo-mand

1957

The Seventh Seal as Antonius Block
Wild Strawberries as Åkerman
The Minister of Uddarbo as Gustaf Ömark
Mr. Sleeman Is Coming as Hunter

1956

The Right to Love as Bergman

1953

No Man's Woman as Olof

1951

Miss Julie as Groom

1949

Only a Mother as Nils

1944

Golden Globe Awards as Self - Nominee / Presenter