Actor
Max von Sydow
Born 10 April 1929 · Lund, Skåne län, Sweden — died 8 March 2020
Max von Sydow (1929–2020) was a Swedish actor whose career spanned over six decades and many languages. He rose to fame in Ingmar Bergman's films, then became a major international presence in Hollywood and European cinema, playing everything from knights and priests to villains.
Key films
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Bergman's classic; his knight playing chess with Death is among cinema's most iconic images.
The Virgin Spring (1960)
Another Bergman collaboration, with a stark performance as a father facing a terrible loss.
The Exorcist (1973)
As Father Merrin, he created one of horror cinema's most memorable characters.
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Played the calm, menacing assassin Joubert in a defining 1970s thriller.
Flash Gordon (1980)
Played Ming the Merciless, showing his range in a cult favourite.
Key awards
- 1988: Academy Award nomination, Best Actor (Pelle the Conqueror)
- 2011: Academy Award nomination, Best Supporting Actor (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close)
On Cinespective
Full filmography · 167
- 1949Only a Mother · as NilsActor
- 1951Miss Julie · as GroomActor
- 1953No Man's Woman · as OlofActor
- 1956The Right to Love · as BergmanActor
- 1957The Seventh Seal · as Antonius BlockActor
- 1957Wild Strawberries · as ÅkermanActor
- 1957Mr. Sleeman Is Coming · as HunterActor
- 1957The Minister of Uddarbo · as Gustaf ÖmarkActor
- 1958The Magician · as Albert Emanuel VoglerActor
- 1958Brink of Life · as Harry AnderssonActor
- 1958Rabies · as Bo Stensson SvenningsonActor
- 1958Spion 503 · as Horst, Gestapo-mandActor
- 1960The Virgin Spring · as TöreActor
- 1960The Wedding Day · as Anders FrostActor
- 1961Through a Glass Darkly · as MartinActor
- 1962The Mistress · as The ManActor
- 1962Wonderful Adventures of Nils · as The FatherActor
- 1963Winter Light · as Jonas PerssonActor
- 1964Dance Around the Guldbaggen · as SelfActor
- 1965The Greatest Story Ever Told · as JesusActor
- 1965Interlude in the Marshland · as Alex KvistActor
- 19654 x 4 · as KvistActor
- 1965The Reward · as Scott SwensonActor
- 1966The Quiller Memorandum · as OktoberActor
- 1966Hawaii · as Abner HaleActor
- 1966Here Is Your Life · as Smålands-PelleActor
- 1967The Diary of Anne Frank · as Otto FrankActor
- 1968Hour of the Wolf · as Johan BorgActor
- 1968Shame · as Jan RosenbergActor
- 1968Black Palm Trees · as Gustav OlofssonActor
- 1968An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman · as SelfActor
- 1969The Passion of Anna · as Andreas WinkelmanActor
- 1969Made in Sweden · as Magnus RudActor
- 1970The Kremlin Letter · as Colonel KosnovActor
- 1971The Emigrants · as Karl OskarActor
- 1971The Touch · as Andreas VergerusActor
- 1971The Night Visitor · as SalemActor
- 1971The Apple War · as Roy LindbergActor
- 1972The New Land · as Karl OskarActor
- 1972Ingmar Bergman · as SelfActor
- 1972Embassy · as GorenkoActor
- 1973The Exorcist · as Father Lankester MerrinActor
- 1974Steppenwolf · as Harry HallerActor
- 1974The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 1975Three Days of the Condor · as G. JoubertActor
- 1975The Ultimate Warrior · as BaronActor
- 1975Egg! Egg! A Hardboiled Story · as The FatherActor
- 1975The Broken Mirror · as Matthew LawrenceActor
- 1976Illustrious Corpses · as Supreme Court PresidentActor
- 1976The Desert of the Tartars · as Cap. OrtizActor
- 1976Voyage of the Damned · as Captain SchroederActor
- 1976Heart of a Dog · as Professor Filipp Filippovich PreobrazenskiActor
- 1976Foxtrot · as LarsenActor
- 1977Exorcist II: The Heretic · as Father Lankester MerrinActor
- 1977March or Die · as François MarneauActor
- 1977Black Journal · as Lisa Carpi / Carabinieri MarshalActor
- 1978Brass Target · as Shelley Martin WebberActor
- 1979Hurricane · as Dr. DanielssonActor
- 1979A Look at Liv · as SelfActor
- 1980Flash Gordon · as The Emperor MingActor
- 1980Death Watch · as Gerald MortenhoeActor
- 1981Escape to Victory · as Major Karl von SteinerActor
- 1981Venetian Lies · as Marcello HerrigheActor
- 1981She Dances Alone · as Nijinsky (voice)Actor
- 1982Conan the Barbarian · as King OsricActor
- 1982The Flight of the Eagle · as Salomon August AndréeActor
- 1982Target Eagle · as Coronel O'DonnellActor
- 1982The Cinema of Carl Th. DreyerActor
- 1982Let Poland Be Poland · as Self - Co-HostActor
- 1983Never Say Never Again · as Ernst Stavro BlofeldActor
- 1983Strange Brew · as Brewmeister SmithActor
- 1983Circle of Passions · as Carlo di VilalfrattiActor
- 1983Destination Dune · as SelfActor
- 1984Dune · as Doctor KynesActor
- 1984Dreamscape · as Paul NovotnyActor
- 1984Samson and Delilah · as SidkaActor
- 1984The Soldier's Tale · as The Devil (voice)Actor
- 1984Le dernier civil · as Gérard BauerleActor
- 1985Code Name: Emerald · as Jürgen BrauschActor
- 1985George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey · as SelfActor
- 1985The Repenter · as SpinolaActor
- 1985Kojak: The Belarus File · as Peter BarakActor
- 1986Hannah and Her Sisters · as FrederickActor
- 1986Duet for One · as Dr. Louis FeldmanActor
- 1986The Wolf at the Door · as August StrindbergActor
- 1987Pelle the Conqueror · as Lasse Karlsson - FarmhandActor
- 1987The Second Victory · as Dr. HuberActor
- 1988KatinkaDirector
- 1988Ingmar Bergman: The Magic Lantern · as VoiceActor
- 1988The Human FactorActor
- 1989Ghostbusters II · as Vigo (voice) (uncredited)Actor
- 1989Red King, White Knight · as SzazActor
- 1989Foreign Filmmakers in Hollywood · as SelfActor
- 1990Awakenings · as Peter InghamActor
- 1990Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes · as Father SiemesActor
- 1990Father · as Joe MuellerActor
- 1990Cellini: A Violent Life · as Pope Clement VIIActor
- 1990The Bachelor · as Von SchleheimActor
- 1991Europa · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1991Until the End of the World · as Henry FarberActor
- 1991A Kiss Before Dying · as Thor CarlssonActor
- 1991The Ox · as VicarActor
- 1991East of the Sun, West of the Moon · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1992The Best Intentions · as Johan ÅkerblomActor
- 1992The Silent Touch · as Henry KesdiActor
- 1993Needful Things · as Leland GauntActor
- 1993Och ge oss skuggorna · as Eugene O'NeillActor
- 1993Morfars resa · as Simon S.L. FrommActor
- 1993Minns ni? · as (archive footage)Actor
- 1994Time is Money · as Joe KaufmanActor
- 1994Onkel Vanja · as The ProfessorActor
- 1995Judge Dredd · as Chief Justice FargoActor
- 1995Citizen X · as Dr. Alexandr BukhanovskyActor
- 1995Lumière & Company · as Jacob (segment "Liv Ullman")Actor
- 1995Depth Solitude · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1995The Atlantic · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1995Stjärnbilder · as (archive footage)Actor
- 1995Anders Zorn - Med egna ord · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1995Captured: Meet Robert A. Robinson Photographer · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1996Hamsun · as Knut HamsunActor
- 1996Private Confessions · as JacobActor
- 1996Jerusalem · as VicarActor
- 1996Delblanc · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1997The Princess and the Pauper · as EposActor
- 1997Solomon · as DavideActor
- 1997Hostile Waters · as Admiral ChernavinActor
- 1997Their Frozen Dream · as S.A. Andrée (voice)Actor
- 1998What Dreams May Come · as The TrackerActor
- 1998The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist · as Self - Father MerrinActor
- 1999Snow Falling on Cedars · as Nels GudmundssonActor
- 2000The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: The Perils of Cupid · as FreudActor
- 2000Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan' · as SelfActor
- 2000Light Keeps Me Company · as SelfActor
- 2001Sleepless · as MorettiActor
- 2001Intacto · as SamuelActor
- 2001Druids · as GuttuartActor
- 2002Minority Report · as Director Lamar BurgessActor
- 2004Ring of the Nibelungs · as EyvindActor
- 2004Hidden Children · as ValobraActor
- 2005Heidi · as Uncle AlpActor
- 2007Rush Hour 3 · as Varden ReynardActor
- 2007The Diving Bell and the Butterfly · as PapinouActor
- 2007The Final Inquiry · as TiberiusActor
- 2008Emotional Arithmetic · as Jakob BronskiActor
- 2009Solomon Kane · as Josiah KaneActor
- 2009Oscar and the Lady in Pink · as Le docteur DusseldorfActor
- 2009A Man and His Dog · as Le commandantActor
- 2010Shutter Island · as Dr. NaehringActor
- 2010Robin Hood · as Sir Walter LoxleyActor
- 2010The Last Norwegian Troll · as The Last Norweigian Troll (voice)Actor
- 2010Behind the Moomins · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2011Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close · as The RenterActor
- 2011Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde · as SelfActor
- 2012Branded · as Marketing GuruActor
- 2012Palme · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2012Max Von Sydow: Dialogues with The Renter · as SelfActor
- 2012Starring Sigmund FreudActor
- 2013Dragons: Real Myths and Unreal Creatures · as Dr. Alistair ConisActor
- 2014I Am Divine · as Self (archive)Actor
- 2014The Letters · as Celeste van ExemActor
- 2015Star Wars: The Force Awakens · as Lor San TekkaActor
- 2016The First, the Last · as Le croque-mortActor
- 2017Max von Sydow · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2017Tuschinski's DreamActor
- 2018Kursk · as Admiral Vladimir PetrenkoActor
- 2021Echoes of the Past · as Nikolas Andreou (Aged)Actor
- 2026The Resurrection of ChristActor
Filmography data from TMDB. The profile text is a draft written for Cinespective.