Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow
- Date of birth
- Date of death
- Age at death
- 90
- Place of birth
- Lund, Skåne län, Sweden
- Citizenship
- Sweden, France
- Occupations
- television actor, film director, director, stage actor, film actor, actor
- Languages
- French, English, Swedish, Italian, German, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian
Biography
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).
Education
- Katedralskolan –1947
- Dramatens elevskola –1951
Awards
- Knight of the Legion of Honour2012
- Donostia Award2006
- Litteris et Artibus1978
- Swedish Academy's Theatre Award1968
- European Film Award for Best Actor1988 Pelle the Conqueror
- Sitges Grand Honorary Award2016
- Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
- Guldbagge Award for Best Director1988 Katinka
Nominations
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor2012 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
- Academy Award for Best Actor1989 Pelle the Conqueror
- European Film Award for Best Actor1988 Pelle the Conqueror
Education and awards: Wikidata information may be incomplete. Wikidata · Updated: 2026-10-28
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