Von Sydow attended Lund Cathedral School (Katedralskolan, Lund), where he learned German and English, starting at the age of nine.
College/University
Gallery of Max von Sydow
Nybroplan, 111 47 Stockholm, Sweden
The Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten) in Stockholm, where Von Sydow trained between 1948 and 1951.
Career
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1957
Max von Sydow and Bengt Ekerot in "Det sjunde inseglet".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1957
Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Åke Fridell, Inga Gill, Inga Landgré and Gunnel Lindblom in "Det sjunde inseglet".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1957
Max von Sydow and Bengt Ekerot in "Det sjunde inseglet".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1957
Max von Sydow in "Det sjunde inseglet".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1958
Max von Sydow and Ingrid Thulin in "Ansiktet".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1960
Max von Sydow and Birgitta Valberg in "Jungfrukällan".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1965
Max von Sydow in "The Reward".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1965
Max von Sydow in "The Greatest Story Ever Told".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1971
Max von Sydow in "The Night Visitor".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1973
Max von Sydow in "The Exorcist".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1973
Max von Sydow, Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, Gina Petrushka and Kitty Winn in "The Exorcist".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1973
Max von Sydow in "The Exorcist".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1973
Max von Sydow in "The Exorcist".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1973
Max von Sydow, Linda Blair and Jason Miller in "The Exorcist".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1975
Max von Sydow in "Three Days of the Condor".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1975
Max von Sydow in "Three Days of the Condor".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1980
Max von Sydow and Ornella Muti in "Flash Gordon".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1980
Max von Sydow in "Flash Gordon".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1984
Max von Sydow in "Dune".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1984
Max von Sydow in "Dreamscape".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1986
Max von Sydow, Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey and Daniel Stern in "Hannah and Her Sisters".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1986
Max von Sydow in "Oviri".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1991
Max von Sydow and Solveig Dommartin in "Bis ans Ende der Welt".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
1995
Max von Sydow in "Judge Dredd".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2002
Max von Sydow in "Minority Report".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2007
Max von Sydow and Noémie Lenoir in "Rush Hour 3".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2010
Max von Sydow in "Shutter Island".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2010
Max von Sydow and Russell Crowe in "Robin Hood".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2010
Max von Sydow, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley and Mark Ruffalo in "Shutter Island".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2011
Max von Sydow and Vladimir 'Furdo' Furdik in "Game of Thrones".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2011
Max von Sydow in "Game of Thrones".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2011
Max von Sydow, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Matteo Elezi, Sebastian Croft and Cordelia Hill in "Game of Thrones".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2011
Max von Sydow and Zoe Caldwell in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2011
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2011
Max von Sydow and Thomas Horn in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close".
Gallery of Max von Sydow
2011
Max von Sydow and Stephen Daldry in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close".
Achievements
Membership
Awards
Donostia Award
2006
San Sebastián, Spain
Max von Sydow holds his Donostia Award, which he was given in recognition for his lifetime career during the San Sebastian's International Film Festival in Spain on September 24, 2006.
Max von Sydow holds his Donostia Award, which he was given in recognition for his lifetime career during the San Sebastian's International Film Festival in Spain on September 24, 2006.
6360 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Max von Sydow, Mathieu Almaric, Marie-Josee Croze and Emmanuelle Seigner at the Los Angeles Premiere of Miramax "The Diving Bell and The Butterfly" at the ArcLight Theatre, on November 8, 2007, in Los Angeles, California.
Max von Sydow, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Stephen Daldry, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright, Sue Kroll and Thomas Horn at an event for "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close".
Max von Sydow, Thomas Horn and director Stephen Daldry attend the "Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close" Press Conference during day two of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival at the Grand Hyatt, on February 10, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.
Max von Sydow, Stephen Daldry and Thomas Horn attend the "Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close" Premiere during day two of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival at the Berlinale Palast, on February 10, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.
Max von Sydow, Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Warwick Davis, Lawrence Kasdan, Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, Peter Mayhew, Oscar Isaac, Bryan Burk, Alex Zane, Lupita Nyong'o, Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Cailey Fleming and Gary the Dog at an event for "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens".
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, 1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France
Max Von Sydow (right) and wife Catherine Brelet (third from left) attend "The BFG (Le Bon Gros Geant - Le BGG)" Premiere during the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals, on May 14, 2016, in Cannes, France.
6360 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, United States
Max von Sydow and Catherine von Sydow at the Los Angeles Premiere of Miramax "The Diving Bell and The Butterfly" at the ArcLight Theatre, on November 8, 2007, in Los Angeles, California.
Father: Carl Wilhelm von Sydow
Carl Wilhelm von Sydow, Max's father
stepchild: Cédric Brelet von Sydow
Max von Sydow together with his wife, Catherine (Brelet) von Sydow, and stepson, Cédric Brelet von Sydow
(An American missionary and his wife travel to the exotic ...)
An American missionary and his wife travel to the exotic island kingdom of Hawaii, intent on converting the natives. But the clash between the two cultures is too great and instead of understanding there comes tragedy.
(Max von Sydow and Dominique Sanda star in this ambitious ...)
Max von Sydow and Dominique Sanda star in this ambitious adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning Herman Hesse's classic novel about the dual nature (the spiritual vs. the physical) of man and his eternal internal struggle to find peace within himself.
(As allied P.O.W.s prepare for a soccer game against the G...)
As allied P.O.W.s prepare for a soccer game against the German National Team to be played in Nazi-occupied Paris, the French Resistance and British officers are making plans for the team's escape.
(A young boy, Conan, becomes a slave after his parents are...)
A young boy, Conan, becomes a slave after his parents are killed and tribe destroyed by a savage warlord and sorcerer, Thulsa Doom. When he grows up, he becomes a fearless, invincible fighter. Set free, he plots revenge against Thulsa Doom.
(A young psychic on the run from himself is recruited by a...)
A young psychic on the run from himself is recruited by a government agency, experimenting with the use of the dream-sharing technology, and is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of the United States president.
(Between two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husba...)
Between two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.
("Father" is a film about a retired German immigrant, livi...)
"Father" is a film about a retired German immigrant, living in Australia, Joe Muller (Max von Sydow), who is accused by a strange woman, named Iya Zetnick (Julia Blake) of being a former Nazi, who committed war crimes during the Second World War. His daughter, Anne Winton (Carol Drinkwater), is not certain, whom to believe.
(During the 1980's, Soviet authorities hunt for a serial k...)
During the 1980's, Soviet authorities hunt for a serial killer, who picks his victims in railway stations and commuter trains and lures them into the woods.
(In a dystopian future, Joseph Dredd, the most famous Judg...)
In a dystopian future, Joseph Dredd, the most famous Judge (a police officer with instant field judiciary powers), is convicted for a crime he did not commit and must face his murderous counterpart.
(In a future, where a special police unit is able to arres...)
In a future, where a special police unit is able to arrest murderers before they commit their crimes, an officer from that unit is himself accused of a future murder.
(After an attempted assassination on Ambassador Han, Lee a...)
After an attempted assassination on Ambassador Han, Lee and Carter head to Paris to protect a French woman with knowledge of the Triads' secret leaders.
(A nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile and pacifis...)
A nine-year-old amateur inventor, Francophile and pacifist searches New York City for the lock, that matches a mysterious key, left behind by his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
(Three decades after the Empire's defeat, a new threat ari...)
Three decades after the Empire's defeat, a new threat arises in the militant First Order. Defected stormtrooper Finn and the scavenger Rey are caught up in the Resistance's search for the missing Luke Skywalker.
Max von Sydow was a Swedish actor, who became a French citizen in 2002. During his career, that spanned 70 years, he appeared in European and American cinema, television and theatre. Von Sydow gained prominence for acting in such films, as "The Seventh Seal" (1957), "The Virgin Spring" (1960), "The Exorcist" (1973), "Three Days of the Condor" (1975), "Pelle the Conqueror" (1987), "Minority Report" (2002) and others.
Background
Ethnicity:
Most of Max's ancestry was Swedish. His parents both had more distant German roots and his mother had a remote Scottish ancestor.
Max von Sydow was born on April 10, 1929, in Lund, Sweden, to a wealthy family. His father, Carl Wilhelm von Sydow, was an ethnologist and professor of Irish, Scandinavian and comparative folklore at the University of Lund. His mother, Baroness Maria Margareta "Greta" von Sydow, was a schoolteacher.
In 2002, Max received his French citizenship and at that time he had to renounce his Swedish citizenship.
Education
Von Sydow attended Lund Cathedral School (Katedralskolan, Lund), where he learned German and English, starting at the age of nine. At the school, he and some friends founded an amateur theatrical company. Max completed his national service before studying at the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten) in Stockholm, where he trained between 1948 and 1951, with the likes of Lars Ekborg, Margaretha Krook and Ingrid Thulin. It's also worth noting, that, during his time at Dramaten, Max made his screen debuts in Alf Sjöberg's films "Only a Mother" (1949) and "Miss Julie" (1951), a screen version of Strindberg's scathing drama.
In his early years, namely during the time, when Max studied at the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten) in Stockholm, he made his screen debuts in Alf Sjöberg's films "Only a Mother" (1949) and "Miss Julie" (1951).
During the period from 1951 to 1953, he was part of the Norrköping-Linköping Municipal Theatre and performed in nine plays, including "Peer Gynt". It was in 1953, that Max joined the City Theatre in Hälsingborg, performing eleven parts in a two-year stint, including Prospero in "The Tempest" and the titular role of the Pirandello play "Henry IV".
In 1955-1960, Max served at the Malmö City Theatre, whose chief director at the time was Ingmar Bergman. "The Seventh Seal" (1957), in which Max appeared as Antonius Block, a disillusioned 14th-century knight, returning from the Crusades to a plague-stricken Sweden, became the first Bergman and von Sydow's film.
Von Sydow's aloof presence and the spiritual complexity of the characters he portrayed contributed significantly to the gloomy atmosphere and ambiguity characteristic of Bergman's films. Other Bergman's films, in which von Sydow appeared, include "The Magician" (1958), "The Virgin Spring" (1960), "Through a Glass Darkly" (1961), "Winter Light" (1963), "Shame" (1968), among others. It's also worth mentioning, that, under Bergman, von Sydow continued his stage career, playing Brick in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", Peer in "Peer Gynt", Alceste in "The Misanthrope" and Faust in "Urfaust". In his company were Gunnar Björnstrand, Ingrid Thulin, Bibi Andersson and Gunnel Lindblom, all frequent collaborators of Bergman on screen.
Despite the fact, that Max was a well-known actor, he often turned down offers to work outside his native Sweden. He was first offered, at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, to act in American films, but he refused the proposition, saying, that he was "content in Sweden" and "had no intention of starting an international career". He also turned down the titular role in "Dr. No" (1962) and that of Captain von Trapp in "The Sound of Music" (1965). However, it was in 1965, that von Sydow finally accepted George Stevens's offer and made his international debut, appearing as Christ in the epic "The Greatest Story Ever Told".
In 1965's "The Reward", von Sydow appeared as a crop-dusting pilot, while in 1966's "Hawaii", he acted as a fanatic missionary. From the mid-1960's, Max, to his own frustration, became frequently cast in villanous roles, such as a neo-Nazi aristocrat in "The Quiller Memorandum" (1966), a Russian colonel in "The Kremlin Letter" (1970), a meticulous and elegant international assassin in "Three Days of the Condor" (1975), Emperor Ming the Merciless in "Flash Gordon" (1980) and James Bond's arch-nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld in "Never Say Never Again" (1983).
It's also worth noting, that, in the late 1960's and early 1970's, von Sydow often acted along Liv Ullmann in such Bergman's films, as "Hour of the Wolf" (1968) and "The Passion of Anna" (1969). The two also appeared in the epic duology, "The Emigrants" (1971) and "The New Land" (1972), directed by Jan Troell.
It was in 1971, that Max appeared a doctor, whose wife is having an affair, in Bergman's first English-language film, titled "The Touch". "The Exorcist" (1973), directed by William Friedkin, was one of von Sydow's most commercially successful films. He performed the role of Father Lankester Merrin and this role earned him the second Golden Globe nomination. In "Exorcist II: The Heretic" (1977), Max appeared in the same role.
It's worth saying, that, it was in 1977, that the actor made his Broadway debut alongside Eileen Atkins and Bibi Andersson in Per Olov Enquist's "The Night of the Tribades", a play about the writer August Strindberg. Later, in 1981, he starred with Anne Bancroft in Tom Kempinski's play "Duet for One". Seven years later, in 1988, Max made his British stage debut at The Old Vic as Prospero in "The Tempest".
Von Sydow's career took a downturn in the 1980's, when he appeared mostly in insignificant character roles. In 1982, he appeared in the Swedish film "The Flight of the Eagle". In 1985, von Sydow was a member of the jury at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival. Max had memorable moments in such films, as "Never Say Never Again" (1983), "Dreamscape" (1984) and "Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986). It was in 1987, that he revived his career with an Oscar-nominated performance in "Pelle the Conqueror". In 1989, von Sydow appeared in the television film "Red King, White Knight", for which he received his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
It was in the early 1990's, that Max, after a short break, reunited with Bergman again. The two worked together in 1991 on "The Best Intentions", directed by Bille August, with a script from Bergman. In 1996, Max made his final appearance in Bergman's film, "Private Confessions". It's also worth noting, that, throughout the 1990's, von Sydow made fine performances in numerous international films, including the American productions "Awakenings" (1990), "A Kiss Before Dying" (1991), "What Dreams May Come" (1998) and "Snow Falling on Cedars" (1999).
At the beginning of the 21st century, von Sydow appeared in one of his biggest commercial successes, acting as the PreCrime director opposite Tom Cruise in Steven Spielberg's science fiction thriller "Minority Report" (2002). Two years later, in 2004, he appeared in a television adaptation of the "Ring of the Nibelung" saga. The show received critical acclaim and was then released in the United States as "Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King". Then, Max appeared in such films, as "Rush Hour 3" (2007) and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (2007). In 2009, Max appeared in the drama series "The Tudors".
In the 2010's, von Sydow appeared in such films, as "Shutter Island" (2010), directed by Martin Scorsese, "Robin Hood" (2010), directed by Ridley Scott, Stephen Daldry's "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" (2011), for which he received his second Academy Award nomination for his performance as a mute elderly renter, and others.
In April 2013, von Sydow was honored at the Turner Classic Movie (TCM) Festival in Hollywood, with screenings of two of his classic films, "Three Days of the Condor" and "The Seventh Seal". In a March 2014 episode of "The Simpsons", Max voiced an art forger. The following year, in 2015, the actor appeared as the explorer Lor San Tekka in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". In 2016, he joined the HBO series "Game of Thrones" as the Three-eyed Raven. For his performance, von Sydow received his second Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Thomas Vinterberg's "Kursk" (2018) was one of the last films Max appeared in.
It's worth noting, that, besides acting in films, Max also collaborated on video games. He provided the voice of Esbern, a mentor of the protagonist in "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" (2011), and narrated the game's debut trailer. Max also lent his voice to the game "Ghostbusters: The Video Game" (2009).
(As allied P.O.W.s prepare for a soccer game against the G...)
1981
Religion
Von Sydow was brought up as a Lutheran. However, in his later years, he was reported to be either an agnostic or an atheist.
In 2012, Max told Charlie Rose in an interview, that Ingmar Bergman had told him he would contact him after death to show him, that there was a life after death. When Rose asked von Sydow if he had heard from Bergman, he replied, that he had, but chose not to elaborate further on the exact meaning of this statement. In the same interview, he described himself as a doubter in his youth, but stated this doubt was gone and indicated he came to agree with Bergman's belief in the afterlife.
Views
Quotations:
"The more I had to act like a saint, the more I felt like being a sinner."
"Producers are not gamblers. They want a good return on their investment."
"I don't believe in devils. Indifference and misunderstandings can create evil situations. Most of the time, people, who appear to be evil, are really victims of evil deeds."
"If Jesus came back today and saw what was going on in his name, he'd never stop throwing up."
"I like to play with things a while before annihilation."
"I just feel I shouldn't work too much, because there are so many other things to do."
"All my life I've been looking for diversity."
"There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison and all that is left is a father's love for his child."
"I remember those days with Bergman with great nostalgia. We were aware, that the films were going to be quite important, and the work felt meaningful."
"A vacation spot out of season always has a very special magic."
"I accept a role only if it's something I really, really like."
"In Hollywood they usually cast me as villains or priests."
Personality
Von Sydow was fluent in a number of languages, including Swedish, English, French and Italian.
"Pelle erobreren" (1987) was one of Max's favorite movies.
Physical Characteristics:
Max was a tall, gaunt and imposing blond-haired man.
Interests
nautical history
Connections
Max von Sydow married actress Christina Inga Britta Olin on August 1, 1951. Their marriage produced two sons - Clas and Henrik, who appeared with him in the film "Hawaii", playing his son at different ages. On February 26, 1979, Max and Christina divorced.
It was on April 30, 1997, that Max married his second wife - French documentarian Catherine Brelet - in Provence. Von Sydow adopted Brelet's two adult sons, Cédric and Yvan, from her previous marriage.
in 1988, for Best Actor, for "Pelle erobreren" (1987);
in 1989, for Best Direction, for "Ved vejen" (1988);
in 1997, for Best Actor, for "Hamsun" (1996)
in 1988, for Best Actor, for "Pelle erobreren" (1987);
in 1989, for Best Direction, for "Ved vejen" (1988);
in 1997, for Best Actor, for "Hamsun" (1996)
CinEuphoria Award
posthumously awarded in 2020, for "Game of Thrones" (2011); shared with David Benioff, D. B. Weiss and many others
posthumously awarded in 2020, for "Game of Thrones" (2011); shared with David Benioff, D. B. Weiss and many others