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

Game of Thrones

The Simpsons

Golden Globe Awards

The Tudors

Shutter Island

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The Exorcist

Rush Hour 3

All Movies (165)

• The Resurrection of Christ2026
• Echoes of the Past2021 · as Nikolas Andreou (Aged)
• Kursk2018 · as Admiral Vladimir Petrenko
• Tuschinski's Dream2017
• Max von Sydow2017 · as Self (archive footage)
• The First, the Last2016 · as Le croque-mort
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens2015 · as Lor San Tekka
• I Am Divine2014 · as Self (archive)
• The Letters2014 · as Celeste van Exem
• Dragons: Real Myths and Unreal Creatures2013 · as Dr. Alistair Conis
• Starring Sigmund Freud2012
• Palme2012 · as Self (archive footage)
• Branded2012 · as Marketing Guru
• Max Von Sydow: Dialogues with The Renter2012 · as Self
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close2011 · as The Renter
• Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde2011 · as Self
• The Last Norwegian Troll2010 · as The Last Norweigian Troll (voice)
• Behind the Moomins2010 · as Narrator (voice)
• Robin Hood2010 · as Sir Walter Loxley
• Shutter Island2010 · as Dr. Naehring
• Solomon Kane2009 · as Josiah Kane
• Oscar and the Lady in Pink2009 · as Le docteur Dusseldorf
• A Man and His Dog2009 · as Le commandant
• Emotional Arithmetic2008 · as Jakob Bronski
• Rush Hour 32007 · as Varden Reynard
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly2007 · as Papinou
• The Final Inquiry2007 · as Tiberius
• Heidi2005 · as Uncle Alp
• Ring of the Nibelungs2004 · as Eyvind
• Hidden Children2004 · as Valobra
• Minority Report2002 · as Director Lamar Burgess
• Intacto2001 · as Samuel
• Druids2001 · as Guttuart
• Sleepless2001 · as Moretti
• The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: The Perils of Cupid2000 · as Freud
• Light Keeps Me Company2000 · as Self
• Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'2000 · as Self
• Snow Falling on Cedars1999 · as Nels Gudmundsson
• What Dreams May Come1998 · as The Tracker
• The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist1998 · as Self - Father Merrin
• Solomon1997 · as Davide
• The Princess and the Pauper1997 · as Epos
• Hostile Waters1997 · as Admiral Chernavin
• Their Frozen Dream1997 · as S.A. Andrée (voice)
• Private Confessions1996 · as Jacob
• Jerusalem1996 · as Vicar
• Hamsun1996 · as Knut Hamsun
• Delblanc1996 · as Narrator (voice)
• Lumière & Company1995 · as Jacob (segment "Liv Ullman")
• Captured: Meet Robert A. Robinson Photographer1995 · as Narrator (voice)
• Stjärnbilder1995 · as (archive footage)
• Judge Dredd1995 · as Chief Justice Fargo
• The Atlantic1995 · as Narrator (voice)
• Citizen X1995 · as Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky
• Depth Solitude1995 · as Narrator (voice)
• Onkel Vanja1994 · as The Professor
• Time is Money1994 · as Joe Kaufman
• Minns ni?1993 · as (archive footage)
• Needful Things1993 · as Leland Gaunt
• Morfars resa1993 · as Simon S.L. Fromm
• Och ge oss skuggorna1993 · as Eugene O'Neill
• The Silent Touch1992 · as Henry Kesdi
• The Best Intentions1992 · as Johan Åkerblom
• The Ox1991 · as Vicar
• Until the End of the World1991 · as Henry Farber
• East of the Sun, West of the Moon1991 · as Narrator (voice)
• Europa1991 · as Narrator (voice)
• A Kiss Before Dying1991 · as Thor Carlsson
• Awakenings1990 · as Peter Ingham
• Father1990 · as Joe Mueller
• Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes1990 · as Father Siemes
• Cellini: A Violent Life1990 · as Pope Clement VII
• The Bachelor1990 · as Von Schleheim
• Red King, White Knight1989 · as Szaz
• Ghostbusters II1989 · as Vigo (voice) (uncredited)
• Foreign Filmmakers in Hollywood1989 · as Self
• Ingmar Bergman: The Magic Lantern1988 · as Voice
• The Human Factor1988
• Pelle the Conqueror1987 · as Lasse Karlsson - Farmhand
• The Second Victory1987 · as Dr. Huber
• Duet for One1986 · as Dr. Louis Feldman
• The Wolf at the Door1986 · as August Strindberg
• Hannah and Her Sisters1986 · as Frederick
• The Repenter1985 · as Spinola
• Code Name: Emerald1985 · as Jürgen Brausch
• George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey1985 · as Self
• Kojak: The Belarus File1985 · as Peter Barak
• Dune1984 · as Doctor Kynes
• The Soldier's Tale1984 · as The Devil (voice)
• Le dernier civil1984 · as Gérard Bauerle
• Dreamscape1984 · as Paul Novotny
• Samson and Delilah1984 · as Sidka
• Never Say Never Again1983 · as Ernst Stavro Blofeld
• Strange Brew1983 · as Brewmeister Smith
• Circle of Passions1983 · as Carlo di Vilalfratti
• Destination Dune1983 · as Self
• Target Eagle1982 · as Coronel O'Donnell
• The Flight of the Eagle1982 · as Salomon August Andrée
• The Cinema of Carl Th. Dreyer1982
• Conan the Barbarian1982 · as King Osric
• Let Poland Be Poland1982 · as Self - Co-Host
• Venetian Lies1981 · as Marcello Herrighe
• Escape to Victory1981 · as Major Karl von Steiner
• She Dances Alone1981 · as Nijinsky (voice)
• Flash Gordon1980 · as The Emperor Ming
• Death Watch1980 · as Gerald Mortenhoe
• Hurricane1979 · as Dr. Danielsson
• A Look at Liv1979 · as Self
• Brass Target1978 · as Shelley Martin Webber
• Black Journal1977 · as Lisa Carpi / Carabinieri Marshal
• March or Die1977 · as François Marneau
• Exorcist II: The Heretic1977 · as Father Lankester Merrin
• Voyage of the Damned1976 · as Captain Schroeder
• The Desert of the Tartars1976 · as Cap. Ortiz
• Foxtrot1976 · as Larsen
• Illustrious Corpses1976 · as Supreme Court President
• Heart of a Dog1976 · as Professor Filipp Filippovich Preobrazenski
• The Ultimate Warrior1975 · as Baron
• Three Days of the Condor1975 · as G. Joubert
• The Broken Mirror1975 · as Matthew Lawrence
• Egg! Egg! A Hardboiled Story1975 · as The Father
• Steppenwolf1974 · as Harry Haller
• The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute1974 · as Self (archive footage)
• The Exorcist1973 · as Father Lankester Merrin
• Ingmar Bergman1972 · as Self
• Embassy1972 · as Gorenko
• The New Land1972 · as Karl Oskar
• The Apple War1971 · as Roy Lindberg
• The Touch1971 · as Andreas Vergerus
• The Emigrants1971 · as Karl Oskar
• The Night Visitor1971 · as Salem
• The Kremlin Letter1970 · as Colonel Kosnov
• The Passion of Anna1969 · as Andreas Winkelman
• Made in Sweden1969 · as Magnus Rud
• Shame1968 · as Jan Rosenberg
• Black Palm Trees1968 · as Gustav Olofsson
• An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman1968 · as Self
• Hour of the Wolf1968 · as Johan Borg
• The Diary of Anne Frank1967 · as Otto Frank
• Here Is Your Life1966 · as Smålands-Pelle
• The Quiller Memorandum1966 · as Oktober
• Hawaii1966 · as Abner Hale
• The Reward1965 · as Scott Swenson
• The Greatest Story Ever Told1965 · as Jesus
• 4 x 41965 · as Kvist
• Interlude in the Marshland1965 · as Alex Kvist
• Dance Around the Guldbaggen1964 · as Self
• Winter Light1963 · as Jonas Persson
• Wonderful Adventures of Nils1962 · as The Father
• The Mistress1962 · as The Man
• Through a Glass Darkly1961 · as Martin
• The Wedding Day1960 · as Anders Frost
• The Virgin Spring1960 · as Töre
• The Magician1958 · as Albert Emanuel Vogler
• Rabies1958 · as Bo Stensson Svenningson
• Spion 5031958 · as Horst, Gestapo-mand
• Brink of Life1958 · as Harry Andersson
• The Minister of Uddarbo1957 · as Gustaf Ömark
• Wild Strawberries1957 · as Åkerman
• Mr. Sleeman Is Coming1957 · as Hunter
• The Seventh Seal1957 · as Antonius Block
• The Right to Love1956 · as Bergman
• No Man's Woman1953 · as Olof
• Miss Julie1951 · as Groom
• Only a Mother1949 · as Nils

All TV Shows (22)

• Game of Thrones2011 · as Three-Eyed Raven
• L'inchiesta - Anno Domini XXXIII2007 · as Tiberio
• The Tudors2007 · as Cardinal Von Waldburg
• Ring of the Nibelungs2004 · as Eyvind
• Nuremberg2000 · as Samuel Rosenman
• Professione fantasma1998 · as Psicoanalista dell’aldilà
• Solomon1997 · as David
• La principessa e il povero1997 · as Epos
• Radetzky March1995 · as Baron Franz von Trotta und Sipolje
• A che punto è la notte1994 · as Arcivescovo di Torino
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles1992 · as Sigmund Freud
• The Simpsons1989 · as Klaus Ziegler (voice)
• Gösta Berlings saga1986 · as Melchior Sinclaire
• Christopher Columbus1985 · as Re Giovanni del Portogallo
• Quo Vadis?1985 · as Petrus
• The Last Place on Earth1985 · as Fridtjof Nansen
• The Guldbagge Awards1981 · as Self - Best Director winner
• The Guldbagge Awards1981 · as Self - Host
• The Guldbagge Awards1981 · as Self - Best Actor winner
• The Emigrants1974 · as Karl Oskar
• Grimme Award1964 · as Self
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Nominee / Presenter