- Max von Sydow
-
Max von Sydow 
Von Sydow at the 2006 San Sebastian International Film FestivalBorn Carl Adolf von Sydow
10 April 1929
Lund, Skåne, SwedenOccupation Actor Years active 1949–present Spouse Kerstin Olin (1951–1996; two sons)
Catherine Brelet (1997–present; two sons)Max von Sydow (
/vɒn ˈsiːdoʊ/;[1] Swedish: [fɔn ˈsyːdɔv]; born 10 April 1929) is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more. He has 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[2]), 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, Ming the Merciless in the 1980 version of Flash Gordon, Dr. Liet-Kynes in David Lynch's 1984 film version of Frank Herbert's novel Dune, and as Brewmeister Smith in the 1983 film Strange Brew.
Contents
Early life
Von Sydow was born Carl Adolf von Sydow[3] to a wealthy family in Lund, Skåne, Sweden. His father, Carl Wilhelm von Sydow, was an ethnologist and professor of Irish, Scandinavian and comparative folklore at the University of Lund. His mother, Baroness Greta (née Rappe), was a school teacher.[4] Von Sydow was brought up as a Lutheran and later became an agnostic.[5]
He attended the Cathedral School of Lund, and learned German and English starting at the age of nine. At school, he and some friends founded an amateur theatre company. He completed National Service before studying at the Royal Dramatic Theatre ("Dramaten") in Stockholm, where he trained between 1948 and 1951 with the likes of Lars Ekborg, Margaretha Krook and Ingrid Thulin. During his time at Dramaten, he made his screen debut in Alf Sjöberg's films Only a Mother (Bara en mor, 1949), and Miss Julie (Fröken Julie, 1951), a screen version of Swedish playwright August Strindberg's well known play.
Career
In 1955 he moved to Malmö, where he met his mentor, Ingmar Bergman. His first work with Bergman occurred on stage at the Malmö Municipal Theatre. Von Sydow later would work with Bergman on films such as The Seventh Seal (Det sjunde inseglet, 1957), Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället, 1957) and The Virgin Spring (Jungfrukällan, 1960). In The Seventh Seal, von Sydow is the knight who plays a chess game with Death to buy time for his companions. The scene and the film were both international breakthroughs for actor and director alike. It was in these films where von Sydow honed and perfected his craft.
Von Sydow came to dominate the screen as he did the stage, becoming an idol of the international arthouse film scene. Critical recognition came as early as 1954 when he was awarded the Royal Foundation Culture Award. He worked profusely on both stage and screen while in Scandinavia, resisting the increasing calls from the United States to go to Hollywood.
After being seen in Bergman's Academy Award–winning films and having been first choice for the title role of Dr. No, von Sydow finally went to America after agreeing to star in the film which led to much greater recognition, in the role of Jesus in George Stevens' all-star epic The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). Because his talents were soon in demand in other American productions, von Sydow and his family eventually moved to Los Angeles.
From 1965, von Sydow became a regular on the American screen while maintaining a presence in his native Sweden. In 1969 he appeared in John Huston's The Kremlin Letter. Though perhaps typecast as a villain, he was rewarded in the United States with two Golden Globe nominations, for Hawaii in 1966 and The Exorcist in 1973. In the mid-1970s, von Sydow moved to Rome and appeared in a number of Italian films, becoming friendly with another screen legend, Marcello Mastroianni. In the U.S., he played a memorably professional Alsatian assassin in Three Days of the Condor (1975), a role which won him the KCFCC Award for Best Supporting Actor. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, von Sydow appeared in such films as Flash Gordon (1980), Strange Brew (1983), David Lynch's Dune (1984), and Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). In 1985, he was a member of the jury at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival.[6] He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the Danish film Pelle the Conqueror (1987), which itself won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Two hundred years to the day since King Gustav III, who founded Dramaten, was assassinated (16 March 1792), von Sydow attended a meeting there commemorating the date, 16 March 1992; this photo was taken in the stage entrance.
Von Sydow has since won the Australian Film Institute's Best Actor Award for his title role in Father (1989), the Guldbagge Best Director Award for his only directorial foray, Katinka (Ved vejen, 1988), based on a novel by Herman Bang, and the Best Actor Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival for The Silent Touch (Dotknięcie ręki, 1993). He received international acclaim for his performance as Nobel Prize–winning novelist Knut Hamsun in Jan Troell's biopic Hamsun. He received his third Swedish Guldbagge and his second Danish Bodil for his depiction of a character often described as his King Lear. In 1996, he starred in Liv Ullmann's Private Confessions (Enskilda samtal). Back in Hollywood, he appeared in What Dreams May Come.
He was acclaimed for his role as an elderly lawyer in Scott Hicks' Snow Falling on Cedars. In 2002, von Sydow had one of his largest commercial successes, co-starring with Tom Cruise in Steven Spielberg's science fiction thriller Minority Report. In 2003, he played mentor character Eyvind in the European TV adaptation of the Ring of the Nibelung saga. The show set ratings records and was released in the USA as Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King. In 2007, von Sydow starred in the box-office hit Rush Hour 3. He followed that with Julian Schnabel's award-winning foreign film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, based on the memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby.
Recently, von Sydow appeared in Showtime's drama series The Tudors, where he portrayed Cardinal Otto Truchsess Von Waldburg, a German-born clergyman who tries to organize the defeat of King Henry VIII. He also appeared in Martin Scorsese's 2010 film adaptation of Shutter Island and Ridley Scott's 2010 adaption of Robin Hood, playing Robin's blind stepfather, Sir Walter Loxley.
Von Sydow will voice the character of Esbern in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, set for release in November 2011. He narrates the initial teaser trailer for the game.[7][8]
Personal life
On 1 August 1951, von Sydow married actress Kerstin Olin, with whom he has two sons, Claes and Henrik. His children appeared with him in the film Hawaii, playing his son at different ages. He divorced Olin in 1996.
Von Sydow then married French filmmaker Catherine Brelet on 30 April 1997 in Provence; they have two sons, Cedric (b. 1970) and Yvan (b. 1971). He currently lives with his wife in Paris, where he enjoys reading, listening to music and gardening. He received French citizenship in 2002 and now holds dual Swedish/French citizenship.
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes 1949 Only a Mother Nils 1951 Miss Julie Hand 1953 Ingen mans kvinna Olaf 1956 Rätten att älska Bergman 1957 Herr Sleeman kommer The Hunter (TV) The Seventh Seal Antonius Block Wild Strawberries Henrik Åkerman 1958 Brink of Life Harry Andersson Rabies Bo Stensson Svenningson The Magician Albert Emanuel Vogler 1960 The Virgin Spring Töre The Wedding Day Anders Frost 1961 Through a Glass Darkly Martin 1962 The Adventures of Nils Holgersson The Father The Mistress Married Man 1963 Winter Light Jonas Persson 1965 4 x 4 Kvist (segment "Uppehåll i myrlandet") The Reward Scott Swenson The Greatest Story Ever Told Jesus Christ 1966 The Quiller Memorandum Oktober Hawaii Rev. Abner Hale Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama Here's Your Life Smålands-Pelle 1967 The Diary of Anne Frank Otto Frank (TV) 1968 Hour of the Wolf Johan Borg Black Palm Trees Gustav Olofsson Shame Jan Rosenberg 1969 Made in Sweden Magnus Rud The Passion of Anna Andreas Winkelman 1970 The Kremlin Letter Colonel Kosnov 1971 The Night Visitor Salem The Emigrants Karl Oskar The Apple War Roy Lindberg The Touch Andreas Vergerus 1972 Embassy Gorenko The New Land Karl Oskar 1973 The Exorcist Father Lankester Merrin Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture 1974 Steppenwolf Harry Haller 1975 The Ultimate Warrior Baron Egg! Egg! A Hardboiled Story The Father Three Days of the Condor G. Joubert KCFCC Award for Best Supporting Actor 1976 Cuore di cane Professor Filipp Filippovich Preobrazenski Voyage of the Damned Captain Schroeder The Desert of the Tartars Hortiz Foxtrot Larsen Illustrious Corpses Supreme Court's President 1977 March or Die François Marneau Exorcist II: The Heretic Father Lankester Merrin 1978 Brass Target Shelley 1979 Hurricane Dr. Danielsson 1980 Death Watch Gerald Mortenhoe Flash Gordon Ming the Merciless Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor 1981 Escape to Victory Major Karl Von Steiner—The Germans aka: "Victory" 1982 Flight of the Eagle Salomon August Andrée Venice Film Festival Pasinetti Cup for Best Actor Conan the Barbarian King Osric 1983 Strange Brew Brewmeister Smith aka: "The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew" Never Say Never Again Ernst Stavro Blofeld Unofficial James Bond film 1984 Dreamscape Doctor Paul Novotny Samson and Delilah Sidka (TV) The Soldier's Tale The Devil Dune Doctor Kynes 1985 Code Name: Emerald Jurgen Brausch Christopher Colombus King John of Portugal TV Mini-series The Last Place on Earth Fridtjof Nansen TV Mini-series Kojak: The Belarus File Peter Barak (TV) Quo Vadis? The Apostle Peter TV Mini-series The Repenter Spinola 1986 Duet for One Dr. Louis Feldman Hannah and Her Sisters Frederick The Second Victory Dr. Huber The Wolf at the Door August Strindberg aka: "Oviri" 1987 Pelle the Conqueror Lassefar Bodil Award Best Actor
European Film Award for Best Actor
Guldbagge Award Best Actor
Robert Festival Best Actor
Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor1988 Katinka First and only film as director 1989 Red King, White Knight Szaz Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Miniseries or a Movie Ghostbusters II Vigo the Carpathian Voice, dubbed voice 1990 A Violent Life Pope Clement VII Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes Father Siemes (TV) Father Joe Mueller Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Awakenings Dr. Peter Ingham 1991 The Ox Vicar Until the End of the World Henry Farber Europa Narrator (voice) A Kiss Before Dying Thor Carlsson The Bachelor Von Schleheim 1992 The Best Intentions Johan Åkerblom, Anna's father Tokyo International Film Festival Best Actor 1993 Och ge oss skuggorna Eugene O'Neill (TV) Needful Things Leland Gaunt Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Actor 1994 Time Is Money Joe Kaufman Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Best Actor 1995 Citizen X Dr. Alexandr Bukhanovsky (TV)
Nominated – CableACE Award for Supporting Actor in a Movie or a MiniseriesJudge Dredd Judge Fargo 1996 Private Confessions Jacob (TV) Samson and Delilah Narrator (TV) (voice) Hamsun Knut Hamsun Guldbagge Award Best Actor
Valladolid International Film Festival Best Actor1997 Solomon David (TV) The Princess and the Pauper Epos (TV) Hostile Waters Admiral Chernavin (TV) 1998 What Dreams May Come The Tracker 1999 Snow Falling on Cedars Nels Gudmundsson 2000 Nuremberg Samuel Irving Rosenman TV Mini-series 2001 Intacto Samuel Druids Guttuart Sleepless Ulisse Moretti 2002 Minority Report Director Lamar Burgess Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor 2004 Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King Eyvind (TV) 2005 Heidi Uncle Alp 2006 The Inquiry Tiberius 2007 Rush Hour 3 Reynard Emotional Arithmetic Jakob Bronski Nominated – Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Papinou 2009 The Tudors Cardinal Von Walburg (TV series) (4 episodes) Ghostbusters: The Video Game Vigo the Carpathian Video Game Voice-over Solomon Kane Josiah Kane A Man and His Dog The Commander Cameo 2010 Shutter Island Dr. Jeremiah Naehring Robin Hood Sir Walter Loxley The Wolfman (Extended Cut) Man on train with silver cane (uncredited) Even though his part was removed from the theatrical cut, there is still a credit for "Assistant to Mr. Von Sydow." 2011 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Esbern Video Game Voice-over 2012 Truth & Treason Frank Fikeis Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close References
- ^ Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures
- ^ Philip French, Screen Legends, The Observer, 10 February 2008 [1]
- ^ The von Sydows migrated from Pomerania, Germany to Sweden in 1725
- ^ Max von Sydow Biography
- ^ Gordon Gow (1976). "The Face of the Actor". Films and Filming. http://bergmanorama.webs.com/repertory/von_sydow_ff76.htm. Retrieved reprint 2009-12-16.
- ^ "Berlinale: Juries". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1985/04_jury_1985/04_Jury_1985.html. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
- ^ "2010 VGAs: Elder Scrolls V trauker reveals 11-11-11 release date". 10-11-12. http://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=12180. Retrieved 10-12-12.
- ^ "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim cover". Game Informer (United States: GameStop Corporation) (213): 50–64. February 2011.
External links
- Max von Sydow at the Internet Movie Database
- Max von Sydow at the Internet Broadway Database
- Max von Sydow at the TCM Movie Database
AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (1980–1999) Jack Thompson (1980) · Mel Gibson (1981) · Ray Barrett (1982) · Norman Kaye (1983) · John Hargreaves (1984) · Chris Haywood (1985) · Colin Friels (1986) · Leo McKern (1987) · John Waters (1988) · Sam Neill (1989) · Max von Sydow (1990) · Hugo Weaving (1991) · Russell Crowe (1992) · Harvey Keitel (1993) · Nicholas Hope (1994) · John Lynch (1995) · Geoffrey Rush (1996) · Richard Roxburgh (1997) · Hugo Weaving (1998) · Russell Dykstra (1999)
Complete list · (1972–1979) · (1980–1999) · (2000–present)
Categories:- 1929 births
- Living people
- Best Actor AACTA Award winners
- European Film Award for Best Actor winners
- People from Lund
- People from Provence
- Swedish agnostics
- Swedish film actors
- Swedish people of German descent
- Swedish emigrants to France
- French people of Swedish descent
- Swedish people
- Swedish television actors
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
