Max von Sydow is one of the most respected and beloved film actors of all time. The German-born actor has starred in countless movies, including Die Hard, The Last Detail, and many more. He has received numerous accolades for his work, and has influenced a generation of actors. Read on to discover more about his achievements.
Life
The Swedish actor Max von Sydow has starred in a number of films throughout his 70-year career. In addition to his appearances in many Hollywood films, he also starred in several television shows.
After receiving his acting training in Stockholm, he went on to appear in several Shakespeare plays. During his career, he also became involved in film production. One of his most notable projects was a collaboration with director Ingmar Bergman. They made eleven films together.
Max von Sydow was born in Lund, Sweden. His father, Carl Wilhelm, was an ethnologist and folklore professor at the University of Lund. He was married to actress Christina Olin in 1951. They had two sons.
Before his career as an actor took off, von Sydow studied English, German, and French. His mother, Baroness Maria Margareta Rappe, was a teacher. When he grew older, he began his studies at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. It was during this time that he met Ingmar Bergman. Several of their first films, including ‘Wild Strawberries’ and ‘The Virgin Spring’, earned international recognition.
Von Sydow stayed in Sweden for most of his career, despite a lucrative offer from the United States. However, in the late 1970s, he returned to the US. Though he enjoyed his success in American cinema, he was not happy there. As a result, he settled in France.
Max von Sydow is best known for his performances in films directed by Ingmar Bergman. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for his role in ‘Pelle the Conqueror’ in 1987. Other films in which he received an Oscar nomination were ‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close’ and ‘Minority Report’.
Max von Sydow was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur by the French government in October 2012. He was also a jury member at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival in 1985. A year later, he was awarded the Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, or Commandeur for Art and Letters, by the French government.
For his contributions to the world of film, Max von Sydow was awarded the Australian Film Institute’s Best Actor Award and a Royal Foundation of Culture award.
Filmography
Max von Sydow is one of the most well-known actors in Swedish cinema history. His filmography spanned more than 120 movies and he was a major star during the golden age of Swedish films. He made his professional film debut in 1949, with the film Only a Mother. In the early 1960s, he turned down several Hollywood offers, deciding to continue working in Sweden.
During his career, Max von Sydow had numerous roles in both Swedish and foreign films. A few of his best known roles are the Three-eyed Raven in “Game of Thrones,” the ruggedly handsome knight Antonius Block in “Dune,” and the Three-Eyed Raven in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Max von Sydow began taking acting lessons in 1948 at the Dramaten theater in Stockholm, Sweden. After working with the theater, he moved to Malmo, Sweden, in 1954, where he became a member of the Malmo City Theatre. At the time of his death, he was a juror at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival.
As an actor, Max von Sydow starred in a wide variety of films, playing demanding mentors, arch-villains, and tormented artists. He was nominated for two Academy Awards, earning a Best Actor nomination for his performance in the 1987 epic film Pelle the Conqueror.
Max von Sydow also portrayed Lamar Burgess in the 2002 film Minority Report. He received a second Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
Although his filmography has not been especially prolific, it has contained many memorable moments. His performances as the three-eyed Raven in “Game of Thrones,” as a socially gauche divinity student in “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” and as the immortal Father Merrin in “The Exorcist” have all deservedly earned him recognition for his talent.
During his lifetime, Max von Sydow also received the honor of Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur, the highest award granted by the French government. Max von Sydow passed away on March 8, 2020. Besides his filmography, he has also appeared on several TV shows, including The Simpsons and a guest spot on The West Wing.
Accolades
Max von Sydow was an actor from Sweden. He has appeared in many films, and is well known for his work with director Ingmar Bergman. However, he has also worked with some other directors.
Max began his career in the 1950s, and became an icon of international cinema in that time. Many great directors sought him out. His best known works include The Exorcist, The Seventh Seal, Pelle the Conqueror, Through a Glass Darkly, and The Magician.
During the early 1960s, Max received several Hollywood offers. Although he turned down these, he continued to work in Scandinavia. Some of the directors who enlisted him were Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, and Steven Spielberg. Among his many accolades, he was awarded the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s career achievement award.
The actor has appeared in a number of TV shows throughout his career. Aside from his work on film, he voiced characters in several games, including Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In addition, he won the festival trophy at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004.
Max has also been honored with the Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur from the French government. In 2012, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in the film Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.
Max is a Swedish-born actor who has lived in France and Rome. He has appeared in several films, and has been a member of the cast of Game of Thrones. When the series returned for its sixth season, he portrayed the Three-Eyed Raven.
Max has also been nominated for several other awards. He won the Danish Guldbagge for his performance in “Pelle the Conqueror”. Additionally, he received an Academy Award nomination for his role in the film. This was a significant win, considering that his career had been largely dormant in the 1980s. Eventually, he returned to the United States and resumed his career.
Max has been married to actress Kerstin Olin, and has two sons. The couple was divorced in 1979. Their relationship was characterized by a high level of passion, but the two were not able to remain together.
Influences
Max Von Sydow was born in Lund, Sweden in 1929. He is a Swedish actor who has appeared in over 163 movies and TV shows. In addition to acting, he has also been known to direct movies. During his career, he was nominated for two Academy Awards.
As a young man, von Sydow was inspired by Shakespeare’s plays. He formed a theatre group with his friends. Eventually, he went on to study at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. Afterwards, he formed a theater company.
In the early 1950s, von Sydow worked in small-town theaters in Sweden. However, he eventually moved on to Scandinavian films. After a couple of years, he starred in a few American films. Then, he was directed by Bergman.
With Bergman, Von Sydow collaborated on 10 additional films. They included entries in Bergman’s “Silence of God” trilogy. It was this relationship that made him famous. Several of the films that von Sydow starred in with Bergman have been considered masterpieces. These include the films: ‘Det sjunde inseglet’ (The Seventh Seal), ‘Ved Vejen’ (Ved, or The Wolfman) and ‘The Night Visitor’.
His first appearance in a Bergman film was the allegory Det sjunde inseglet. Here, he played the role of a gaunt knight. Throughout his acting career, he has been known to play characters with a spiritual complexity.
His other notable roles included a devil-evicting priest in ‘The Exorcist’ (1973), and a vengeful asylum inmate in ‘The Night Visitor’. Another one of his favorite Bergman films is the ‘Shame’ (1968).
Max von Sydow received three Swedish Guldbagge awards. Also, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. He also starred in two films nominated for an Oscar.
When he was 82, Max von Sydow was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award for the movie ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.’ He is also one of only four Swedish actors to be nominated for an Emmy Award.
Max von Sydow passed away on March 8, 2020. He is survived by his wife Catherine Brelet and their three sons. Besides acting, he had an influence on horror and sci-fi cinema.
