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Max von Sydow

Standing over six feet-four inches tall, the bony Swedish actor Max von Sydow spent much of his acting career portraying stern, oppressive characters. Born to a family of academics in Lund, Sweden, von Sydow studied at the Royal Dramatic School in Stockholm, where he made his screen debut in Only a Mother and married his first wife, actress Christina Olin... read more

Standing over six feet-four inches tall, the bony Swedish actor Max von Sydow spent much of his acting career portraying stern, oppressive characters. Born to a family of academics in Lund, Sweden, von Sydow studied at the Royal Dramatic School in Stockholm, where he made his screen debut in Only a Mother and married his first wife, actress Christina Olin. In 1956, he moved to Malmö and met director Ingmar Bergman at the Malmo Municipal Theatre. After starring in The Seventh Seal, von Sydow went on to star in more than a dozen films with Bergman, including Wild Strawberries, Virgin Spring, Through a Glass Darkly, and Winter Light. He worked almost exclusively with Bergman's acting company until 1965, when he took the role as Jesus in George Stevens' epic The Greatest Story Ever Told. This part opened the door to American films, where he was often typecast in strong, humorless roles, like the rigid missionary Abner Hale in Hawaii. In the '70s, he went back to Sweden to work with Bergman in four more films and appeared opposite frequent co-star Liv Ullmann in Jan Troell's two-part saga The Emigrants and The New Land. It wasn't until 1973 that he made his first big Hollywood blockbuster with the role of Father Merrin The Exorcist, which he reprised in Exorcist II: The Heretic. Moving to Rome in the '80s, von Sydow had a fun role as Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon, played Barbara Hershey's intense artist boyfriend in Hannah and Her Sisters, and received his first Oscar nomination and numerous other awards for his work in Pelle the Conqueror (1988). After making his directorial debut with Katinka, he worked in several theater projects and a couple of biblical TV miniseries (Sampson & Delilah and Quo Vadis). It was during this time that he was cast as the devil in the Stephen King film adaptation Needful Things, marking von Sydow as the only actor to play both God and Satan. He also appeared in Judge Dredd and Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. He continued acting sporadically in Hollywood for What Dreams May Come and Snow Falling on Cedars. Moving on to the international circuit, he appeared in Intacto (Spain), Vercingetorix (France), and Non ho Sonno (Italy). In 2002, he co-starred with Tom Cruise for the Steven Spielberg blockbuster Minority Report.He continued to work steadily throughout the decade in projects as diverse as Rush Hour 3, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Shutter Island. Coming nearly sixty years after his earliest film work, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close earned the venerable actor his second Oscar nomination - a Best Supporting Actor nod for his portrayal of a mute grandfather. ~ Rovi

Category Actors
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Creator: Zvents Zvents

Reviews & Comments
USER REVIEWS
Mar 06, 2008 - jimmyh
A True Master

Max von Sydow is one of my favorite actors of all time. He is extremely engaging and charismatic, even when he's playing the antagonist. While I am most stricken by his roles in the early Bergman films such as "The Seventh Seal" and "The Virgin Spring," I have enjoyed all of his roles up to his latest films. He continues to prove that he is an undeniably capable actor with extraordinary screen presence in whatever part he plays, large or small. His style has become increasingly refined over the years, and I have no doubt that he will continue to bring life to any screen character who has the honor of being played by this great actor.

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Performer Information
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MOVIES
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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2012)
The Renter
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Extrêmement fort et incroyablement près (2012)
The Renter
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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
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Moomins and the Comet Chase (2010)
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Robin Hood (2010)
Sir Walter Loxley
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Robin des bois (2010)
Sir Walter Loxley
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Solomon Kane (2010)
Josiah Kane
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Shutter Island (2010)
Dr. Naehring
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Shutter Island (2010)
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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (French w/e.s.t.) (2007)
Papinou
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Heure limite 3 (2007)
Jules Reynard
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Rush Hour 3 (2007)
Jules Reynard
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The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde inseglet) (2007)
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Heidi (2005)
Uncle Alp
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Minority Report (2002)
Pre-Crime Director Lamar Burgess
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Minority Report (2002)
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The Exorcist - The Version You've Never Seen (2000)
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The Exorcist (2000)
Father Lankester Merrin
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The Exorcist (2000)
Father Lankester Merrin
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Until the End of the World (1991)
Henry Farber
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Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Frederick
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Never Say Never Again (1983)
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Strange Brew (1983)
Brewmeister Smith
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Conan the Barbarian (1982)
King Osric
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Flash Gordon (1980)
The Emperor Ming/Ming's floating servant
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Illustrious Corpses (Cadaveri eccellenti) (1976)
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Three Days of the Condor (1975)
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Three Days of the Condor (1975)
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The Exorcist (1973)
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The Exorcist (1973)
Father Lankester Merrin
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The Emigrants (1972)
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The New Land (1972)
Karl-Oskar
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The Touch (Beroringen) (1971)
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L'Heure du loup (1968)
Johan Borg
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Hour of the Wolf (1968)
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Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen) (1967)
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The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
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Winter Light (1963)
Jonas Persson
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Through a Glass Darkly (1961)
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The Virgin Spring (1960)
Töre
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The Virgin Spring (Jungfrukallan) (1960)
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The Magician (Ansiktet) (1959)
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The Seventh Seal (1956)
Antonius Block
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Only a Mother (1949)
Nils
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Moomins and the Comet Chase (Muumi ja punainen pyrstotahti)
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The Desert of the Tartars
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Dreamscape
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4 x 4: Pause in the Marshland (Uppehåll i Myrlandet)
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Exorcist II: The Heretic
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The Wolf at the Door (Oviri)
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The Emigrants (Utvandrarna)
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Illustrious Corpses
Supreme Court's president
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The Touch
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Judge Dredd
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The Best Intentions
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Europa
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The Exorcist: Director's Cut
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La Mort en direct
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The Passion of Anna
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Never Say Never Again
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The Magician
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Through a Glass Darkly (Sasom i en spegel)
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Flash Gordon
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Le Scaphandre et le Papillon
Papinou
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Zentropa
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Shame
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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Papinou
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Death Watch
Gerald Mortenhoe