Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
April 10, 1929
Place of Birth:
Lund, Skåne län, Sweden
Social Media
Max von Sydow
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).
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist | Self (archive footage) |
| 2021 | Echoes of the Past | Nikolas Andreou (Aged) |
| 2018 | Kursk | Admiral Vladimir Petrenko |
| 2017 | Max von Sydow | Self (archive footage) |
| 2017 | Tuschinski's Dream | |
| 2016 | The First, the Last | Le croque-mort |
| 2015 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Lor San Tekka |
| 2014 | The Letters | Celeste van Exem |
| 2013 | Dragons: Real Myths and Unreal Creatures | Dr. Alistair Conis |
| 2012 | Branded | Marketing Guru |
| 2012 | Max Von Sydow: Dialogues with The Renter | Self |
| 2012 | Starring Sigmund Freud | |
| 2012 | Palme | |
| 2011 | Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde | Self |
| 2011 | Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | The Renter |
| 2010 | Robin Hood | Sir Walter Loxley |
| 2010 | Shutter Island | Dr. Naehring |
| 2010 | The Last Norwegian Troll | The Last Norweigian Troll (voice) |
| 2010 | The Wolfman | Passenger on Train (Director's Cut) (uncredited) |
| 2010 | Behind the Moomins | Narrator (voice) |
| 2009 | Solomon Kane | Josiah Kane |
| 2009 | A Man and His Dog | Le commandant |
| 2009 | Oscar and the Lady in Pink | Le docteur Dusseldorf |
| 2008 | Emotional Arithmetic | Jakob Bronski |
| 2007 | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | Papinou |
| 2007 | Rush Hour 3 | Varden Reynard |
| 2007 | The Final Inquiry | Tiberius |
| 2005 | Heidi | Uncle Alp |
| 2004 | Ring of the Nibelungs | Eyvind |
| 2004 | Hidden Children | Valobra |
| 2002 | Minority Report | Director Lamar Burgess |
| 2001 | Intact | Samuel |
| 2001 | Druids | Guttuart |
| 2001 | Sleepless | Moretti |
| 2000 | Light Keeps Me Company | Self |
| 2000 | Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan' | Self |
| 2000 | The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: The Perils of Cupid | Freud |
| 1999 | Snow Falling on Cedars | Nels Gudmundsson |
| 1998 | What Dreams May Come | The Tracker |
| 1998 | The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist | Self - Father Merrin |
| 1997 | Hostile Waters | Admiral Chernavin |
| 1997 | Solomon | Davide |
| 1997 | Their Frozen Dream | S.A. Andrée (voice) |
| 1997 | The Princess and the Pauper | Epos |
| 1996 | Private Confessions | Jacob |
| 1996 | Delblanc | Narrator (voice) |
| 1996 | Hamsun | Knut Hamsun |
| 1996 | Jerusalem | Vicar |
| 1996 | Samson and Delilah | Narrator (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1995 | Citizen X | Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky |
| 1995 | Judge Dredd | Chief Justice Fargo |
| 1995 | Depth Solitude | Narrator (voice) |
| 1995 | Stjärnbilder | (archive footage) |
| 1995 | The Atlantic | Narrator (voice) |
| 1995 | Captured: Meet Robert A. Robinson Photographer | Narrator (voice) |
| 1994 | Onkel Vanja | The Professor |
| 1994 | Time is Money | Joe Kaufman |
| 1993 | Needful Things | Leland Gaunt |
| 1993 | Minns ni? | (archive footage) |
| 1993 | Och ge oss skuggorna | Eugene O'Neill |
| 1993 | Morfars resa | Simon S.L. Fromm |
| 1992 | The Best Intentions | Johan Åkerblom |
| 1992 | The Silent Touch | Henry Kesdi |
| 1991 | Until the End of the World | Henry Farber |
| 1991 | A Kiss Before Dying | Thor Carlsson |
| 1991 | Europa | Narrator (voice) |
| 1991 | The Ox | Vicar |
| 1991 | East of the Sun, West of the Moon | Narrator (voice) |
| 1990 | Awakenings | Peter Ingham |
| 1990 | The Bachelor | Von Schleheim |
| 1990 | Father | Joe Mueller |
| 1990 | Cellini: A Violent Life | Papa Clemente VII |
| 1990 | Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes | Father Siemes |
| 1989 | Ghostbusters II | Vigo (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1989 | Red King, White Knight | Szaz |
| 1989 | Foreign Filmmakers in Hollywood | Self |
| 1988 | The Human Factor | |
| 1988 | Ingmar Bergman: The Magic Lantern | Voice |
| 1987 | Pelle the Conqueror | Lasse Karlsson - Farmhand |
| 1987 | The Second Victory | Dr. Huber |
| 1986 | Hannah and Her Sisters | Frederick |
| 1986 | Duet for One | Dr. Louis Feldman |
| 1986 | The Wolf at the Door | August Strindberg |
| 1985 | The Fascination | |
| 1985 | Code Name: Emerald | Jürgen Brausch |
| 1985 | Kojak: The Belarus File | Peter Barak |
| 1985 | The Repenter | Spinola |
| 1985 | George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey | Self |
| 1984 | Dune | Doctor Kynes |
| 1984 | Dreamscape | Paul Novotny |
| 1984 | The Soldier's Tale | The Devil (voice) |
| 1984 | Samson and Delilah | Sidka |
| 1984 | Le dernier civil | Gérard Bauerle |
| 1983 | Strange Brew | Brewmeister Smith |
| 1983 | Never Say Never Again | Ernst Stavro Blofeld |
| 1983 | Circle of Passions | Carlo di Vilalfratti |
| 1983 | Destination Dune | Self |
| 1982 | Conan the Barbarian | King Osric |
| 1982 | The Flight of the Eagle | Salomon August Andrée |
| 1982 | Target Eagle | Coronel O'Donnell |
| 1982 | Let Poland Be Poland | Self - Co-Host |
| 1982 | The Cinema of Carl Th. Dreyer | |
| 1981 | Escape to Victory | Major Karl von Steiner |
| 1981 | Venetian Lies | Marcello Herrighe |
| 1981 | She Dances Alone | Nijinsky's voice |
| 1980 | Flash Gordon | The Emperor Ming |
| 1980 | Death Watch | Gerald Mortenhoe |
| 1979 | A Look at Liv | Self |
| 1979 | Hurricane | Dr. Danielsson |
| 1978 | Brass Target | Shelley Martin Webber |
| 1977 | Exorcist II: The Heretic | Father Lankester Merrin |
| 1977 | March or Die | François Marneau |
| 1977 | Black Journal | Lisa Carpi / Carabinieri Marshal |
| 1976 | Illustrious Corpses | Supreme Court President |
| 1976 | The Desert of the Tartars | Cap. Ortiz |
| 1976 | Voyage of the Damned | Captain Schroeder |
| 1976 | Heart of a Dog | Professor Filipp Filippovich Preobrazenski |
| 1976 | Foxtrot | Larsen |
| 1975 | Three Days of the Condor | G. Joubert |
| 1975 | The Ultimate Warrior | Baron |
| 1975 | Egg! Egg! A Hardboiled Story | The Father |
| 1975 | The Broken Mirror | Matthew Lawrence |
| 1974 | The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute | Self (archive footage) |
| 1974 | Steppenwolf | Harry Haller |
| 1973 | The Exorcist | Father Lankester Merrin |
| 1972 | The New Land | Karl Oskar |
| 1972 | Ingmar Bergman | Self |
| 1972 | Embassy | Gorenko |
| 1971 | The Emigrants | Karl Oskar |
| 1971 | The Apple War | Roy Lindberg |
| 1971 | The Night Visitor | Salem |
| 1971 | The Touch | Andreas Vergerus |
| 1970 | The Kremlin Letter | Colonel Kosnov |
| 1969 | The Passion of Anna | Andreas Winkelman |
| 1969 | Made in Sweden | Magnus Rud |
| 1968 | Shame | Jan Rosenberg |
| 1968 | Hour of the Wolf | Johan Borg |
| 1968 | Black Palm Trees | Gustav Olofsson |
| 1968 | An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman | Self |
| 1967 | The Diary of Anne Frank | Otto Frank |
| 1966 | Hawaii | Abner Hale |
| 1966 | The Quiller Memorandum | Oktober |
| 1966 | Here Is Your Life | Smålands-Pelle |
| 1965 | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Jesus |
| 1965 | The Reward | Scott Swenson |
| 1965 | Interlude in the Marshland | Alex Kvist |
| 1965 | 4 x 4 | Kvist |
| 1964 | Dance Around the Guldbaggen | Self |
| 1963 | Winter Light | Jonas Persson |
| 1962 | The Mistress | The Man |
| 1962 | Wonderful Adventures of Nils | The Father |
| 1961 | Through a Glass Darkly | Martin |
| 1960 | The Virgin Spring | Töre |
| 1960 | The Wedding Day | Anders Frost |
| 1958 | The Magician | Albert Emanuel Vogler |
| 1958 | Brink of Life | Harry Andersson |
| 1958 | Spion 503 | Horst, Gestapo-mand |
| 1958 | Rabies | Bo Stensson Svenningson |
| 1957 | The Seventh Seal | Antonius Block |
| 1957 | Wild Strawberries | Åkerman |
| 1957 | Mr. Sleeman Is Coming | Hunter |
| 1957 | The Minister of Uddarbo | Gustaf Ömark |
| 1956 | The Right to Love | Bergman |
| 1953 | Ingen mans kvinna | Olof |
| 1951 | Miss Julie | Groom |
| 1949 | Only a Mother | Nils |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Game of Thrones | Three-Eyed Raven |
| 2007 | The Tudors | Cardinal Von Waldburg |
| 2007 | L'inchiesta - Anno Domini XXXIII | Tiberio |
| 2004 | Ring of the Nibelungs | Eyvind |
| 2000 | Nuremberg | Samuel Rosenman |
| 1998 | Professione fantasma | Psicoanalista dell’aldilà |
| 1997 | La principessa e il povero | Epos |
| 1997 | Solomon | David |
| 1995 | Radetzky March | Baron Franz von Trotta und Sipolje |
| 1994 | A che punto è la notte | Arcivescovo di Torino |
| 1992 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Sigmund Freud |
| 1989 | The Simpsons | Klaus Ziegler (voice) |
| 1986 | Gösta Berlings saga | Melchior Sinclaire |
| 1985 | The Last Place on Earth | Fridtjof Nansen |
| 1985 | Quo Vadis? | Petrus |
| 1985 | Christopher Columbus | Re Giovanni del Portogallo |
| 1981 | The Guldbagge Awards | Self - Best Director winner |
| 1981 | The Guldbagge Awards | Self - Host |
| 1981 | The Guldbagge Awards | Self - Best Actor winner |
| 1974 | The Emigrants | Karl Oskar |
| 1964 | Grimme Awards Ceremony | Self |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Nominee/Presenter |