Max von Sydow
Actor
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).
As Director
Filmography
Shutter Island
as Dr. Naehring 2010
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
as Lor San Tekka 2015
Minority Report
as Director Lamar Burgess 2002
The Exorcist
as Father Lankester Merrin 1973
Robin Hood
as Sir Walter Loxley 2010
Ghostbusters II
as Vigo (voice) (uncredited) 1989
Rush Hour 3
as Varden Reynard 2007
Dune
as Doctor Kynes 1984
The Seventh Seal
as Antonius Block 1957
Awakenings
as Peter Ingham 1990
Conan the Barbarian
as King Osric 1982
Judge Dredd
as Chief Justice Fargo 1995
What Dreams May Come
as The Tracker 1998
The Wolfman
as Passenger on Train (Director's Cut) (uncredited) 2010
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
as The Renter 2011
Wild Strawberries
as Åkerman 1957
Never Say Never Again
as Ernst Stavro Blofeld 1983