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