Max von Sydow
Biography
Max von Sydow was a Swedish and French actor who worked for seven decades in European and American film, television and theater, appearing in more than 150 films. Born in Lund, Sweden, he trained at Stockholm's Royal Dramatic Theatre from 1948 to 1951. He gained international notice as Antonius Block, the knight at the center of Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1957), and he appeared in eleven Bergman films, among them Wild Strawberries (1957), The Virgin Spring (1960) and Winter Light (1963). His American debut came as Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), and he went on to play leads and villains in The Exorcist (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975) and Never Say Never Again (1983). He was nominated for Academy Awards for Pelle the Conqueror (1987) and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011), and won Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for Flight of the Eagle (1982). He died in 2020.
90years old at death
- Born Lund
- Died Seillans
- Star sign: AriesThe sign runs March 21 to April 19
- Carl Adolf von Sydow (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 66
- Career span
- 64 years1957 to 2021
Genres
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A role that slipped away
At the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, von Sydow was approached about acting in U.S. films, but he refused, saying he was content in Sweden. He also turned down the title role in Dr. No and Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music.
Behind the camera
Sydow's sole directing credit came in 1988 with Katinka, adapted from Herman Bang's novel Ved Vejen. It earned Guldbagge Awards for Best Film and Best Director, yet audiences beyond Sweden saw little of it.
Early training
Von Sydow trained at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm between 1948 and 1951, where he helped start a theater group that included actress Ingrid Thulin.
First role
Von Sydow's first stage role was a small part in Goethe's Egmont. He thought his performance was almost a disaster, yet the reviews were good.
Max von Sydow movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
- Minority Report2002 Action, Crime, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thrilleras Director Lamar Burgess
IMDb rating 7.6627K votes
Most often with
Ingmar Bergman directed nine of these films, John Huston two and Bille August two. Bibi Andersson appears in six of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Bibi Andersson's page
Gunnar Björnstrand's page
Ingrid Thulin's page
Erland Josephson's page
Gunnel Lindblom's page
Tor Borong's page
All films by Ingmar Bergman
All films by John Huston
Bille AugustDirector, 2 films, 1987 to 1992
All films by Bille August
Box office
What Max von Sydow's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$4.6 billion
39 of the 66 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 66 films: 39 worldwide figure; 5 us gross only; 7 never in cinemas; 15 figure not found.
- 39Worldwide figure
- 5US gross only
- 7Never in cinemas
- 15Figure not found
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 87% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$2.1B44.8% of the total
- 2$431M9.3% of the total
- 3$358M7.8% of the total
- 4$322M7.0% of the total
- 5$295M6.4% of the total
- 6$258M5.6% of the total
- 7$160M3.5% of the total
- 8$113M2.5% of the total
$612 millionfrom the other 31 films with a worldwide figure, 13% of the total
Awards
Eight awards and honors from 1968 to 2016.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other honors | |||
| 2016 | Sitges Grand Honorary Award | Honorary | |
| 2012 | Knight of the Legion of Honour | Won | |
| 2006 | Donostia Award | Won | |
| 1988 | European Film Award for Best Actor | Pelle the Conqueror | Won |
| 1988 | Guldbagge Award for Best Director | Katinka | Won |
| 1978 | Litteris et Artibus | Won | |
| 1968 | Swedish Academy's Theatre Award | Won | |
| Ordre des Arts et des Lettres | Won | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.