Max von Sydow
Acting1929Lund, Skåne län, Sweden
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
Acting History
2025
Legacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies
as Self - (archive footage)
2021
Echoes of the Past
as Nikolas Andreou (Aged)
2018
Kursk
as Admiral Vladimir Petrenko
2017
Max von Sydow
as Self (archive footage)
2016
The First, the Last
as Le croque-mort
Game of Thrones
TVas Three-Eyed Raven• 3 eps
2015
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
as Lor San Tekka
2014
The Letters
as Celeste van Exem
The Simpsons
TVas Klaus Ziegler (voice)• 1 eps
2013
Dragons: Real Myths and Unreal Creatures
as Dr. Alistair Conis
2011
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
as The Renter
2010
Shutter Island
as Dr. Naehring
Robin Hood
as Sir Walter Loxley
Behind the Moomins
as Narrator (voice)
The Last Norwegian Troll
as The Last Norweigian Troll (voice)
The Wolfman
as Passenger on Train (Director's Cut) (uncredited)
2009
Solomon Kane
as Josiah Kane
A Man and His Dog
as Le commandant
Oscar and the Lady in Pink
as Le docteur Dusseldorf
The Tudors
TVas Cardinal Von Waldburg• 8 eps
2008
Emotional Arithmetic
as Jakob Bronski
2007
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
as Papinou
Rush Hour 3
as Varden Reynard
The Final Inquiry
as Tiberius
L'inchiesta - Anno Domini XXXIII
TVas Tiberio
2005
Heidi
as Uncle Alp
2004
2002
Minority Report
as Director Lamar Burgess
2000
Light Keeps Me Company
as Self
Nuremberg
TVas Samuel Rosenman• 2 eps
1999
Snow Falling on Cedars
as Nels Gudmundsson
1998
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
as Self - Father Merrin
What Dreams May Come
as The Tracker
Professione fantasma
TVas Psicoanalista dell’aldilà
1997
Their Frozen Dream
as S.A. Andrée (voice)
Hostile Waters
as Admiral Chernavin
The Princess and the Pauper
as Epos
Solomon
as Davide
La principessa e il povero
TVas Epos
Solomon
TVas David
1996
1995
Judge Dredd
as Chief Justice Fargo
Lumière & Company
as Jacob (segment "Liv Ullman")
Stjärnbilder
as (archive footage)
Citizen X
as Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky
Depth Solitude
as Narrator (voice)
The Atlantic
as Narrator (voice)
Captured: Meet Robert A. Robinson Photographer
as Narrator (voice)
Grimme Award
TVas Self• 1 eps
Radetzky March
TVas Baron Franz von Trotta und Sipolje
1994
Onkel Vanja
as The Professor
Time is Money
as Joe Kaufman
A che punto è la notte
TVas Arcivescovo di Torino
1993
Morfars resa
as Simon S.L. Fromm
Minns ni?
as (archive footage)
Och ge oss skuggorna
as Eugene O'Neill
Needful Things
as Leland Gaunt
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
TVas Sigmund Freud• 1 eps
1992
The Silent Touch
as Henry Kesdi
The Best Intentions
as Johan Åkerblom
1991
Until the End of the World
as Henry Farber
Europa
as Narrator (voice)
The Ox
as Vicar
A Kiss Before Dying
as Thor Carlsson
East of the Sun, West of the Moon
as Narrator (voice)
1990
Awakenings
as Peter Ingham
The Bachelor
as Von Schleheim
Father
as Joe Mueller
Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes
as Father Siemes
Cellini: A Violent Life
as Pope Clement VII
1989
Red King, White Knight
as Szaz
Ghostbusters II
as Vigo (voice) (uncredited)
1988
1987
The Second Victory
as Dr. Huber
Pelle the Conqueror
as Lasse Karlsson - Farmhand
1986
Duet for One
as Dr. Louis Feldman
The Wolf at the Door
as August Strindberg
Hannah and Her Sisters
as Frederick
Gösta Berlings saga
TVas Melchior Sinclaire
1985
Kojak The Belarus File
as Peter Barak
The Repenter
as Spinola
Code Name: Emerald
as Jürgen Brausch
Quo Vadis?
TVas Petrus
The Last Place on Earth
TVas Fridtjof Nansen
Christopher Columbus
TVas Re Giovanni del Portogallo
1984
Dune
as Doctor Kynes
Dreamscape
as Paul Novotny
The Soldier's Tale
as The Devil (voice)
Samson and Delilah
as Sidka
Le dernier civil
as Gérard Bauerle
1983
Circle of Passions
as Carlo di Vilalfratti
Never Say Never Again
as Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Strange Brew
as Brewmeister Smith
Destination Dune
as Self
1982
Conan the Barbarian
as King Osric
Let Poland Be Poland
as Self - Co-Host
The Flight of the Eagle
as Salomon August Andrée
Target Eagle
as Coronel O'Donnell
1981
Victory
as Major Karl von Steiner
Venetian Lies
as Marcello Herrighe
She Dances Alone
as Nijinsky (voice)
The Guldbagge Awards
TVas Self - Best Actor winner / Self - Host / Self - Best Director winner
1980
Death Watch
as Gerald Mortenhoe
Flash Gordon
as The Emperor Ming
1979
Hurricane
as Dr. Danielsson
A Look at Liv
as Self
1978
Brass Target
as Shelley Martin Webber
1977
Exorcist II: The Heretic
as Father Lankester Merrin
March or Die
as François Marneau
Black Journal
as Lisa Carpi / Carabinieri Marshal
1976
Voyage of the Damned
as Captain Schroeder
Heart of a Dog
as Professor Filipp Filippovich Preobrazenski
Foxtrot
as Larsen
The Desert of the Tartars
as Cap. Ortiz
Illustrious Corpses
as Supreme Court President
1975
Egg! Egg! A Hardboiled Story
as The Father
The Broken Mirror
as Matthew Lawrence
Three Days of the Condor
as G. Joubert
The Ultimate Warrior
as Baron
1974
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
as Self (archive footage)
Steppenwolf
as Harry Haller
Golden Globe Awards
TVas Self - Nominee / Presenter• 1 eps
The Emigrants
TVas Karl Oskar
1973
The Exorcist
as Father Lankester Merrin
1972
1971
The Touch
as Andreas Vergerus
The Apple War
as Roy Lindberg
The Emigrants
as Karl Oskar
The Night Visitor
as Salem
1970
The Kremlin Letter
as Colonel Kosnov
1969
The Passion of Anna
as Andreas Winkelman
Made in Sweden
as Magnus Rud
1968
1967
The Diary of Anne Frank
as Otto Frank
1966
1965
4 x 4
as Kvist
The Greatest Story Ever Told
as Jesus
The Reward
as Scott Swenson
Interlude in the Marshland
as Alex Kvist
1964
Dance Around the Guldbaggen
as Self
1963
Winter Light
as Jonas Persson
1962
The Mistress
as The Man
Wonderful Adventures of Nils
as The Father
1961
Through a Glass Darkly
as Martin
1960
The Virgin Spring
as Töre
The Wedding Day
as Anders Frost
1958
Rabies
as Bo Stensson Svenningson
The Magician
as Albert Emanuel Vogler
Brink of Life
as Harry Andersson
Spion 503
as Horst, Gestapo-mand
1957
The Seventh Seal
as Antonius Block
The Minister of Uddarbo
as Gustaf Ömark
Wild Strawberries
as Åkerman
Mr. Sleeman Is Coming
as Hunter
1956
The Right to Love
as Bergman
1953
No Man's Woman
as Olof
1951
Miss Julie
as Groom
1949
Only a Mother
as Nils