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
Judge Dredd
(1995)
Chief Justice Fargo
Dune
(1984)
Doctor Kynes
Flash Gordon
(1980)
The Emperor Ming
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(2015)
Lor San Tekka
The Exorcist
(1973)
Father Lankester Merrin
Shutter Island
(2010)
Dr. Naehring
Ghostbusters II
(1989)
Vigo (voice) (uncredited)
Awakenings
(1990)
Peter Ingham
Conan the Barbarian
(1982)
King Osric
Robin Hood
(2010)
Sir Walter Loxley
Rush Hour 3
(2007)
Varden Reynard
The Wolfman
(2010)
Passenger on Train (Director's Cut) (uncredited)
Minority Report
(2002)
Director Lamar Burgess [Pre-Crime]
Never Say Never Again
(1983)
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Kursk
(2018)
Admiral Vladimir Petrenko
Solomon Kane
(2009)
Josiah Kane
Full Filmography
Acting
Only a Mother
(1949)
Nils
Miss Julie
(1951)
Groom
Ingen mans kvinna
(1953)
Olof
The Right to Love
(1956)
Bergman
Mr. Sleeman Is Coming
(1957)
Hunter
The Seventh Seal
(1957)
Antonius Block
Wild Strawberries
(1957)
Henrik Åkerman
The Minister of Uddarbo
(1957)
Gustaf Ömark
Rabies
(1958)
Bo Stensson Svenningson
The Magician
(1958)
Albert Emanuel Vogler
Brink of Life
(1958)
Harry Andersson
Spion 503
(1958)
Horst, Gestapo-mand
The Wedding Day
(1960)
Anders Frost
The Virgin Spring
(1960)
Töre
Through a Glass Darkly
(1961)
Martin
Wonderful Adventures of Nils
(1962)
The Father
The Mistress
(1962)
The Man
Winter Light
(1963)
Jonas Persson
Dance Around the Guldbaggen
(1964)
Self
4 x 4
(1965)
Kvist
The Greatest Story Ever Told
(1965)
Jesus
Interlude in the Marshland
(1965)
Alex Kvist
The Reward
(1965)
Scott Swenson
Here Is Your Life
(1966)
Smålands-Pelle
Hawaii
(1966)
Abner Hale
The Quiller Memorandum
(1966)
Oktober
The Diary of Anne Frank
(1967)
Otto Frank
An Introduction to Ingmar Bergman
(1968)
Self
Black Palm Trees
(1968)
Gustav Olofsson
Shame
(1968)
Jan Rosenberg
Hour of the Wolf
(1968)
Johan Borg
The Passion of Anna
(1969)
Andreas Winkelman
Made in Sweden
(1969)
Magnus Rud
The Kremlin Letter
(1970)
Colonel Kosnov
The Night Visitor
(1971)
Salem
The Apple War
(1971)
Roy Lindberg
The Touch
(1971)
Andreas Vergerus
The Emigrants
(1971)
Karl Oskar
Ingmar Bergman
(1972)
Self
The New Land
(1972)
Karl Oskar
Embassy
(1972)
Gorenko
The Exorcist
(1973)
Father Lankester Merrin
Steppenwolf
(1974)
Harry Haller
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
(1974)
Self (archive footage)
The Ultimate Warrior
(1975)
Baron
Three Days of the Condor
(1975)
G. Joubert
The Broken Mirror
(1975)
Matthew Lawrence
Egg! Egg! A Hardboiled Story
(1975)
The Father
Heart of a Dog
(1976)
Professor Filipp Filippovich Preobrazenski
The Desert of the Tartars
(1976)
Cap. Ortiz
Voyage of the Damned
(1976)
Captain Schroeder
Foxtrot
(1976)
Larsen
Illustrious Corpses
(1976)
Supreme Court President
Black Journal
(1977)
Lisa Carpi / Carabinieri Marshal
March or Die
(1977)
François Marneau
Exorcist II: The Heretic
(1977)
Father Lankester Merrin
Brass Target
(1978)
Shelley Martin Webber
Hurricane
(1979)
Dr. Danielsson
A Look at Liv
(1979)
Self
Flash Gordon
(1980)
The Emperor Ming
Death Watch
(1980)
Gerald Mortenhoe
Venetian Lies
(1981)
Marcello Herrighe
She Dances Alone
(1981)
Nijinsky's voice
Escape to Victory
(1981)
Major Karl von Steiner
Conan the Barbarian
(1982)
King Osric
The Flight of the Eagle
(1982)
Salomon August Andrée
Target Eagle
(1982)
Coronel O'Donnell
The Cinema of Carl Th. Dreyer
(1982)
Let Poland Be Poland
(1982)
Self - Co-Host
Never Say Never Again
(1983)
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Strange Brew
(1983)
Brewmeister Smith
Circle of Passions
(1983)
Carlo di Vilalfratti
Samson and Delilah
(1984)
Sidka
Dreamscape
(1984)
Paul Novotny
Dune
(1984)
Doctor Kynes
Terror in the Aisles
(1984)
Father Merrin (archive footage) (uncredited)
Le dernier civil
(1984)
Gérard Bauerle
The Soldier's Tale
(1984)
The Devil
Code Name: Emerald
(1985)
Jürgen Brausch
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey
(1985)
Self
The Fascination
(1985)
Kojak: The Belarus File
(1985)
Peter Barak
The Repenter
(1985)
Spinola
Duet for One
(1986)
Dr. Louis Feldman
Hannah and Her Sisters
(1986)
Frederick
The Wolf at the Door
(1986)
August Strindberg
Pelle the Conqueror
(1987)
Lasse Karlsson - Farmhand
The Second Victory
(1987)
Dr. Huber
Ingmar Bergman: The Magic Lantern
(1988)
Voice
Den mänskliga faktorn
(1988)
Foreign Filmmakers in Hollywood
(1989)
Self
Red King, White Knight
(1989)
Szaz
Ghostbusters II
(1989)
Vigo (voice) (uncredited)
Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes
(1990)
Father Siemes
The Bachelor
(1990)
Von Schleheim
Cellini: A Violent Life
(1990)
Papa Clemente VII
Awakenings
(1990)
Peter Ingham
Father
(1990)
Joe Mueller
The Ox
(1991)
Vicar
Europa
(1991)
Narrator (voice)
Until the End of the World
(1991)
Henry Farber
A Kiss Before Dying
(1991)
Thor Carlsson
The Best Intentions
(1992)
Johan Åkerblom
The Silent Touch
(1992)
Henry Kesdi
Minns ni?
(1993)
(archive footage)
Och ge oss skuggorna
(1993)
Eugene O'Neill
Morfars resa
(1993)
Simon S.L. Fromm
Needful Things
(1993)
Leland Gaunt
A che punto è la notte
(1994)
Arcivescovo di Torino
Onkel Vanja
(1994)
The Professor
Time is Money
(1994)
Joe Kaufman
Stjärnbilder
(1995)
(archive footage)
Depth Solitude
(1995)
Narrator (voice)
Citizen X
(1995)
Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky
Judge Dredd
(1995)
Chief Justice Fargo
The Atlantic
(1995)
Narrator (voice)
Captured: Meet Robert A. Robinson Photographer
(1995)
Narrator (voice)
Delblanc
(1996)
Narrator (voice)
Jerusalem
(1996)
Vicar
Hamsun
(1996)
Knut Hamsun
Private Confessions
(1996)
Jacob
Samson and Delilah
(1996)
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Solomon
(1997)
Davide
Their Frozen Dream
(1997)
S.A. Andrée (voice)
Hostile Waters
(1997)
Admiral Chernavin
The Princess and the Pauper
(1997)
Epos
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
(1998)
Self / Father Merrin
What Dreams May Come
(1998)
The Tracker
Snow Falling on Cedars
(1999)
Nels Gudmundsson
Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
(2000)
Self
Light Keeps Me Company
(2000)
Self
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: The Perils of Cupid
(2000)
Freud
Druids
(2001)
Guttuart
Sleepless
(2001)
Moretti
Intacto
(2001)
Samuel
Minority Report
(2002)
Director Lamar Burgess [Pre-Crime]
Hidden Children
(2004)
Valobra
Ring of the Nibelungs
(2004)
Eyvind
Heidi
(2005)
Uncle Alp
The Final Inquiry
(2007)
Tiberius
Rush Hour 3
(2007)
Varden Reynard
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(2007)
Papinou
Emotional arithmetic
(2008)
Jakob Bronski
Oscar and the Lady in Pink
(2009)
Le docteur Dusseldorf
A Man and His Dog
(2009)
Le commandant
Solomon Kane
(2009)
Josiah Kane
Shutter Island
(2010)
Dr. Naehring
Robin Hood
(2010)
Sir Walter Loxley
Behind the Moomins
(2010)
Narrator (voice)
The Last Norwegian Troll
(2010)
The Last Norweigian Troll (voice)
The Wolfman
(2010)
Passenger on Train (Director's Cut) (uncredited)
Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde
(2011)
Intervenant
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
(2011)
The Renter
Branded
(2012)
Marketing Guru
Max Von Sydow: Dialogues with The Renter
(2012)
Self
Dragons: Real Myths and Unreal Creatures
(2013)
Dr. Alistair Conis
The Letters
(2014)
Celeste van Exem
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(2015)
Lor San Tekka
The First, the Last
(2016)
Le croque-mort
Max von Sydow
(2017)
Self (archive footage)
Tuschinski's Dream
(2017)
Kursk
(2018)
Admiral Vladimir Petrenko
Behind the Scenes of Såsom i en spegel (Through a Glass Darkly)
(2018)
Echoes of the Past
(2021)
Nikolas Andreou (Aged)
Dune (1984): The Alternative Edition Redux 4K Remaster
(2021)
Doctor Kynes
Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist
(2023)
Self (archive footage)
Directing