Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

188

Gender

Male

Birthday

1929-04-10

Deathday

2020-03-08 (90 years old)

Place of Birth

Lund, Skåne län, Sweden

Also Known As

Max Carl Adolf von Sydow
Max Von Sydow
Макс фон Сюдов
Carl Adolf von Sydow

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

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Acting

2023

Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist as Self (archive footage)

2021

Echoes of the Past as Nikolas Andreou (Aged)

2018

Kursk as Admiral Vladimir Petrenko

2017		Tuschinski's Dream
2017		Max von Sydow as Self (archive footage)

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		Starring Sigmund Freud
2012		Palme
2012		Branded as Marketing Guru
2012		Max Von Sydow: Dialogues with The Renter as Self

2011		Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close as The Renter
2011		Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde as Self
2011		Game of Thrones as Three-Eyed Raven

2010		The Last Norwegian Troll as The Last Norweigian Troll (voice)
2010		Robin Hood as Sir Walter Loxley
2010		Shutter Island as Dr. Naehring
2010		The Wolfman as Passenger on Train (Director's Cut) (uncredited)
2010		Behind the Moomins as Narrator (voice)

2009		Oscar and the Lady in Pink as Le docteur Dusseldorf
2009		Solomon Kane as Josiah Kane
2009		A Man and His Dog as Le commandant

2008

Emotional Arithmetic as Jakob Bronski

2007		Rush Hour 3 as Varden Reynard
2007		The Diving Bell and the Butterfly as Papinou
2007		The Final Inquiry as Tiberius
2007		L'inchiesta - Anno Domini XXXIII as Tiberio
2007		The Tudors as Cardinal Von Waldburg

2005

Heidi as Uncle Alp

2004		Ring of the Nibelungs as Eyvind
2004		Ring of the Nibelungs as Eyvind
2004		Hidden Children as Valobra

2002

Minority Report as Director Lamar Burgess [Pre-Crime]

2001		Intact as Samuel
2001		Druids as Guttuart
2001		Sleepless as Moretti

2000		The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: The Perils of Cupid as Freud
2000		Light Keeps Me Company as Self
2000		Nuremberg as Samuel Rosenman
2000		Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan' as Self

1999

Snow Falling on Cedars as Nels Gudmundsson

1998		What Dreams May Come as The Tracker
1998		The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist as Self - Father Merrin
1998		Professione fantasma as Psicoanalista dell’aldilà

1997		Solomon as Davide
1997		Solomon as David
1997		The Princess and the Pauper as Epos
1997		La principessa e il povero as Epos
1997		Hostile Waters as Admiral Chernavin
1997		Their Frozen Dream as S.A. Andrée (voice)

1996		Private Confessions as Jacob
1996		Samson and Delilah as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1996		Jerusalem as Vicar
1996		Hamsun as Knut Hamsun
1996		Delblanc as Narrator (voice)

1995		Radetzky March as Baron Franz von Trotta und Sipolje
1995		Captured: Meet Robert A. Robinson Photographer as Narrator (voice)
1995		Stjärnbilder as (archive footage)
1995		Judge Dredd as Chief Justice Fargo
1995		The Atlantic as Narrator (voice)
1995		Citizen X as Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky
1995		Depth Solitude as Narrator (voice)

1994		Onkel Vanja as The Professor
1994		A che punto è la notte as Arcivescovo di Torino
1994		Time is Money as Joe Kaufman

1993		Minns ni? as (archive footage)
1993		Needful Things as Leland Gaunt
1993		Morfars resa as Simon S.L. Fromm
1993		Och ge oss skuggorna as Eugene O'Neill

1992		The Silent Touch as Henry Kesdi
1992		The Best Intentions as Johan Åkerblom
1992		The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as Sigmund Freud

1991		The Ox as Vicar
1991		Until the End of the World as Henry Farber
1991		East of the Sun, West of the Moon as Narrator (voice)
1991		Europa as Narrator (voice)
1991		A Kiss Before Dying as Thor Carlsson

1990		Awakenings as Peter Ingham
1990		Father as Joe Mueller
1990		Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes as Father Siemes
1990		Cellini: A Violent Life as Papa Clemente VII
1990		The Bachelor as Von Schleheim

1989		The Simpsons as Klaus Ziegler (voice)
1989		Red King, White Knight as Szaz
1989		Ghostbusters II as Vigo (voice) (uncredited)
1989		Foreign Filmmakers in Hollywood as Self

1988		Ingmar Bergman: The Magic Lantern as Voice
1988		The Human Factor

1987		Pelle the Conqueror as Lasse Karlsson - Farmhand
1987		The Second Victory as Dr. Huber

1986		Duet for One as Dr. Louis Feldman
1986		The Wolf at the Door as August Strindberg
1986		Gösta Berlings saga as Melchior Sinclaire
1986		Hannah and Her Sisters as Frederick

1985		The Repenter as Spinola
1985		Code Name: Emerald as Jürgen Brausch
1985		Christopher Columbus as Re Giovanni del Portogallo
1985		George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey as Self
1985		Quo Vadis? as Petrus
1985		The Last Place on Earth as Fridtjof Nansen
1985		Kojak: The Belarus File as Peter Barak
1985		The Fascination

1984		Dune as Doctor Kynes
1984		Le dernier civil as Gérard Bauerle
1984		Dreamscape as Paul Novotny
1984		Samson and Delilah as Sidka
1984		The Soldier's Tale as The Devil (voice)

1983		Never Say Never Again as Ernst Stavro Blofeld
1983		Strange Brew as Brewmeister Smith
1983		Circle of Passions as Carlo di Vilalfratti
1983		Destination Dune as Self

1982		Target Eagle as Coronel O'Donnell
1982		The Flight of the Eagle as Salomon August Andrée
1982		The Cinema of Carl Th. Dreyer
1982		Conan the Barbarian as King Osric
1982		Let Poland Be Poland as Self - Co-Host

1981		The Guldbagge Awards as Self - Best Director winner
1981		The Guldbagge Awards as Self - Host
1981		The Guldbagge Awards as Self - Best Actor winner
1981		She Dances Alone as Nijinsky's voice
1981		Venetian Lies as Marcello Herrighe
1981		Escape to Victory as Major Karl von Steiner

1980		Flash Gordon as The Emperor Ming
1980		Death Watch as Gerald Mortenhoe

1979		Hurricane as Dr. Danielsson
1979		A Look at Liv as Self

1978

Brass Target as Shelley Martin Webber

1977		Black Journal as Lisa Carpi / Carabinieri Marshal
1977		March or Die as François Marneau
1977		Exorcist II: The Heretic as Father Lankester Merrin

1976		Voyage of the Damned as Captain Schroeder
1976		The Desert of the Tartars as Cap. Ortiz
1976		Foxtrot as Larsen
1976		Illustrious Corpses as Supreme Court President
1976		Heart of a Dog as Professor Filipp Filippovich Preobrazenski

1975		The Ultimate Warrior as Baron
1975		Three Days of the Condor as G. Joubert
1975		The Broken Mirror as Matthew Lawrence
1975		Egg! Egg! A Hardboiled Story as The Father

1974		Steppenwolf as Harry Haller
1974		The Emigrants as Karl Oskar
1974		The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute as Self (archive footage)

1973

The Exorcist as Father Lankester Merrin

1972		Ingmar Bergman as Self
1972		Embassy as Gorenko
1972		The New Land as Karl Oskar

1971		The Apple War as Roy Lindberg
1971		The Touch as Andreas Vergerus
1971		The Emigrants as Karl Oskar
1971		The Night Visitor as Salem

1970

The Kremlin Letter as Colonel Kosnov

1969		The Passion of Anna as Andreas Winkelman
1969		Made in Sweden as Magnus Rud

1968		Shame as Jan Rosenberg
1968		Black Palm Trees as Gustav Olofsson
1968		An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman as Self
1968		Hour of the Wolf as Johan Borg

1967

The Diary of Anne Frank as Otto Frank

1966		Here Is Your Life as Smålands-Pelle
1966		The Quiller Memorandum as Oktober
1966		Hawaii as Abner Hale

1965		The Reward as Scott Swenson
1965		The Greatest Story Ever Told as Jesus
1965		4 x 4 as Kvist
1965		Interlude in the Marshland as Alex Kvist

1964		Dance Around the Guldbaggen as Self
1964		Grimme Awards Ceremony as Self

1963

Winter Light as Jonas Persson

1962		Wonderful Adventures of Nils as The Father
1962		The Mistress as The Man

1961

Through a Glass Darkly as Martin

1960		The Wedding Day as Anders Frost
1960		The Virgin Spring as Töre

1958		The Magician as Albert Emanuel Vogler
1958		Rabies as Bo Stensson Svenningson
1958		Spion 503 as Horst, Gestapo-mand
1958		Brink of Life as Harry Andersson

1957		The Minister of Uddarbo as Gustaf Ömark
1957		Wild Strawberries as Åkerman
1957		Mr. Sleeman Is Coming as Hunter
1957		The Seventh Seal as Antonius Block

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

Directing

1988

Katinka as Director