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
| Birth Location | Lund, Skåne län, Sweden |
|---|---|
| Born | 1929-04-10 |
| Died | 2020-03-08 |
Movies
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
as Self (archive footage)
2023
Echoes of the Past
as Nikolas Andreou (Aged)
2021
Kursk
as Admiral Vladimir Petrenko
2018
2017
Max von Sydow
as Self (archive footage)
2017
The First, the Last
as Le croque-mort
2016
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
as Lor San Tekka
2015
The Letters
as Celeste van Exem
2014
Dragons: Real Myths and Unreal Creatures
as Dr. Alistair Conis
2013
Branded
as Marketing Guru
2012
2012
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
as The Renter
2011
Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde
as Intervenant
2011
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)
2010
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
2009
Emotional arithmetic
as Jakob Bronski
2008
Rush Hour 3
as Varden Reynard
2007
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
as Papinou
2007
The Final Inquiry
as Tiberius
2007
Heidi
as Uncle Alp
2005
Ring of the Nibelungs
as Eyvind
2004
Hidden Children
as Valobra
2004
Minority Report
as Director Lamar Burgess [Pre-Crime]
2002
Intacto
as Samuel
2001
Druids
as Guttuart
2001
Sleepless
as Moretti
2001
Light Keeps Me Company
as Self
2000
2000
Snow Falling on Cedars
as Nels Gudmundsson
1999
What Dreams May Come
as The Tracker
1998
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
as Self / Father Merrin
1998
Solomon
as Davide
1997
The Princess and the Pauper
as Epos
1997
Hostile Waters
as Admiral Chernavin
1997
Their Frozen Dream
as S.A. Andrée (voice)
1997
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)
1996
Captured: Meet Robert A. Robinson Photographer
as Narrator (voice)
1995
Stjärnbilder
as Self
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)
1995
Onkel Vanja
as The Professor
1994
Time is Money
as Joe Kaufman
1994
A che punto è la notte
as Arcivescovo di Torino
1994
1993
Needful Things
as Leland Gaunt
1993
Morfars resa
as Simon S.L. Fromm
1993
Och ge oss skuggorna
as Eugene O'Neill
1993
The Silent Touch
as Henry Kesdi
1992
The Best Intentions
as Johan Åkerblom
1992
The Ox
as Vicar
1991
Until the End of the World
as Henry Farber
1991
Europa
as Narrator (voice)
1991
A Kiss Before Dying
as Thor Carlsson
1991
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
1990
Red King, White Knight
as Szaz
1989
Ghostbusters II
as Vigo (voice) (uncredited)
1989
Foreign Filmmakers in Hollywood
as Self
1989
Ingmar Bergman: The Magic Lantern
as Voice
1988
Pelle the Conqueror
as Lasse Karlsson - Farmhand
1987
The Second Victory
as Dr. Huber
1987
Duet for One
as Dr. Louis Feldman
1986
The Wolf at the Door
as August Strindberg
1986
Hannah and Her Sisters
as Frederick
1986
The Repenter
as Spinola
1985
Code Name: Emerald
as Jürgen Brausch
1985
1985
Kojak: The Belarus File
as Peter Barak
1985
1985
Dune
as Doctor Kynes
1984
Le dernier civil
as Gérard Bauerle
1984
Terror in the Aisles
as Father Merrin (archive footage) (uncredited)
1984
Dreamscape
as Doctor Paul Novotny
1984
Samson and Delilah
as Sidka
1984
The Soldier's Tale
as The Devil
1984
Never Say Never Again
as Ernst Stavro Blofeld
1983
Strange Brew
as Brewmeister Smith
1983
Circle of Passions
as Carlo di Vilalfratti
1983
Target Eagle
as Coronel O'Donnell
1982
The Flight of the Eagle
as Salomon August Andrée
1982
Conan the Barbarian
as King Osric
1982
Let Poland Be Poland
as Self - Co-Host
1982
She Dances Alone
as Nijinsky's voice
1981
Venetian Lies
as Marcello Herrighe
1981
Escape to Victory
as Major Karl von Steiner
1981
Flash Gordon
as The Emperor Ming
1980
Death Watch
as Gerald Mortenhoe
1980
Hurricane
as Dr. Danielsson
1979
A Look at Liv
as Self
1979
Brass Target
as Shelley Martin Webber
1978
Black Journal
as Lisa Carpi / Carabinieri Marshal
1977
March or Die
as François Marneau
1977
Exorcist II: The Heretic
as Father Lankester Merrin
1977
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
1976
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
1975
Steppenwolf
as Harry Haller
1974
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
as Self (archive footage)
1974
The Exorcist
as Father Lankester Merrin
1973
Ingmar Bergman
as Self
1972
Embassy
as Gorenko
1972
The New Land
as Karl Oskar
1972
The Apple War
as Roy Lindberg
1971
The Touch
as Andreas Vergerus
1971
The Emigrants
as Karl Oskar
1971
The Night Visitor
as Salem
1971
The Kremlin Letter
as Colonel Kosnov
1970
The Passion of Anna
as Andreas Winkelman
1969
Made in Sweden
as Magnus Rud
1969
Shame
as Jan Rosenberg
1968
Black Palm Trees
as Gustav Olofsson
1968
1968
Hour of the Wolf
as Johan Borg
1968
The Diary of Anne Frank
as Otto Frank
1967
Here Is Your Life
as Smålands-Pelle
1966
The Quiller Memorandum
as Oktober
1966
Hawaii
as Abner Hale
1966
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
1965
Dance Around the Guldbaggen
as Self
1964
Winter Light
as Jonas Persson
1963
Wonderful Adventures of Nils
as The Father
1962
The Mistress
as The Man
1962
Through a Glass Darkly
as Martin
1961
The Wedding Day
as Anders Frost
1960
The Virgin Spring
as Töre
1960
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
1958
The Minister of Uddarbo
as Gustaf Ömark
1957
Wild Strawberries
as Henrik Åkerman
1957
Mr. Sleeman Is Coming
as Hunter
1957
The Seventh Seal
as Antonius Block
1957
The Right to Love
as Bergman
1956
Ingen mans kvinna
as Olof
1953
Miss Julie
as Groom
1951
Only a Mother
as Nils
1949
Movies
Katinka
Director
1988
