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
2025
- Legacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies as Self - (archive footage)
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
- The Letters as Celeste van Exem
2013
- Dragons: Real Myths and Unreal Creatures as Dr. Alistair Conis
2012
- Palme as Self (archive footage)
- Branded as Marketing Guru
- Max Von Sydow: Dialogues with The Renter as Self
- Starring Sigmund Freud
2011
- Game of Thrones as Three-Eyed Raven
- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close as The Renter
- Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde as Self
2010
- Shutter Island as Dr. Naehring
- Robin Hood as Sir Walter Loxley
- The Wolfman as Passenger on Train (Director's Cut) (uncredited)
- The Last Norwegian Troll as The Last Norweigian Troll (voice)
- Behind the Moomins as Narrator (voice)
2009
- Solomon Kane as Josiah Kane
- A Man and His Dog as Le commandant
- Oscar and the Lady in Pink as Le docteur Dusseldorf
2008
- Emotional Arithmetic as Jakob Bronski
2007
- The Tudors as Cardinal Von Waldburg
- Rush Hour 3 as Varden Reynard
- The Final Inquiry as Tiberius
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly as Papinou
- L'inchiesta - Anno Domini XXXIII as Tiberio
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
2000
- Nuremberg as Samuel Rosenman
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: The Perils of Cupid as Freud
- Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan' as Self
- Light Keeps Me Company as Self
1999
- Snow Falling on Cedars as Nels Gudmundsson
1998
- What Dreams May Come as The Tracker
- The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist as Self - Father Merrin
- Professione fantasma as Psicoanalista dell’aldilà
1997
- Hostile Waters as Admiral Chernavin
- The Princess and the Pauper as Epos
- Solomon as Davide
- Solomon as David
- La principessa e il povero as Epos
- Their Frozen Dream as S.A. Andrée (voice)
1996
- Jerusalem as Vicar
- Hamsun as Knut Hamsun
- Private Confessions as Jacob
- Delblanc as Narrator (voice)
1995
- Stjärnbilder as (archive footage)
- Judge Dredd as Chief Justice Fargo
- Citizen X as Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky
- The Atlantic as Narrator (voice)
- Radetzky March as Baron Franz von Trotta und Sipolje
- Depth Solitude as Narrator (voice)
- Captured: Meet Robert A. Robinson Photographer as Narrator (voice)
1994
- Onkel Vanja as The Professor
- Time is Money as Joe Kaufman
- A che punto è la notte as Arcivescovo di Torino
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
- The Ox as Vicar
- A Kiss Before Dying as Thor Carlsson
- Until the End of the World as Henry Farber
- Europa as Narrator (voice)
- East of the Sun, West of the Moon as Narrator (voice)
1990
- Awakenings as Peter Ingham
- The Bachelor as Von Schleheim
- Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes as Father Siemes
- 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
- The Wolf at the Door as August Strindberg
- Duet for one as Dr. Louis Feldman
- Gösta Berlings saga as Melchior Sinclaire
1985
- The Repenter as Spinola
- Code Name: Emerald as Jürgen Brausch
- George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey as Self
- The Last Place on Earth as Fridtjof Nansen
- Christopher Columbus as Re Giovanni del Portogallo
- Quo Vadis? as Petrus
- Kojak The Belarus File as Peter Barak
1984
- Dune as Doctor Kynes
- Dreamscape as Paul Novotny
- Samson and Delilah as Sidka
- Le dernier civil as Gérard Bauerle
- The Soldier's Tale as The Devil (voice)
1983
- Never Say Never Again as Ernst Stavro Blofeld
- Circle of Passions as Carlo di Vilalfratti
- Strange Brew as Brewmeister Smith
- Destination Dune as Self
1982
- Conan the Barbarian as King Osric
- Target Eagle as Coronel O'Donnell
- The Flight of the Eagle as Salomon August Andrée
- Let Poland Be Poland as Self - Co-Host
- The Cinema of Carl Th. Dreyer
1981
- Escape to Victory as Major Karl von Steiner
- Venetian Lies as Marcello Herrighe
- The Guldbagge Awards as Self - Best Director winner
- She Dances Alone as Nijinsky's 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
- March or Die as François Marneau
- Exorcist II: The Heretic as Father Lankester Merrin
- Black Journal as Lisa Carpi / Carabinieri Marshal
1976
- Illustrious Corpses as Supreme Court President
- Foxtrot as Larsen
- The Desert of the Tartars as Cap. Ortiz
- Voyage of the Damned as Captain Schroeder
- Heart of a Dog as Professor Filipp Filippovich Preobrazenski
1975
- Three Days of the Condor as G. Joubert
- Egg! Egg! A Hardboiled Story as The Father
- The Ultimate Warrior as Baron
- The Broken Mirror as Matthew Lawrence
1974
- Steppenwolf as Harry Haller
- The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute as Self (archive footage)
- The Emigrants as Karl Oskar
1973
- The Exorcist as Father Lankester Merrin
1972
- The New Land as Karl Oskar
- Embassy as Gorenko
- Ingmar Bergman as Self
1971
- The Emigrants as Karl Oskar
- The Touch as Andreas Vergerus
- The Apple War as Roy Lindberg
- The Night Visitor as Salem
1970
- The Kremlin Letter as Colonel Kosnov
1969
- Made in Sweden as Magnus Rud
- The Passion of Anna as Andreas Winkelman
1968
- Black Palm Trees as Gustav Olofsson
- Shame as Jan Rosenberg
- Hour of the Wolf as Johan Borg
- 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
- 4 x 4 as Kvist
- Interlude in the Marshland as Alex Kvist
1964
- Grimme Award as Self
- Dance Around the Guldbaggen as Self
1963
- Winter Light as Jonas Persson
1962
- The Mistress as The Man
- Wonderful Adventures of Nils as The Father
1961
- Through a Glass Darkly as Martin
1960
- The Wedding Day as Anders Frost
- The Virgin Spring as Töre
1958
- Rabies as Bo Stensson Svenningson
- The Magician as Albert Emanuel Vogler
- Brink of Life as Harry Andersson
- Spion 503 as Horst, Gestapo-mand
1957
- Wild Strawberries as Åkerman
- The Seventh Seal as Antonius Block
- The Minister of Uddarbo as Gustaf Ömark
- Mr. Sleeman Is Coming as Hunter
1956
- The Right to Love as Bergman
1953
- Ingen mans kvinna as Olof
1951
- Miss Julie as Groom
1949
- Only a Mother as Nils
1944
- Golden Globe Awards as Self - Nominee / Presenter