Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow, born Carl Adolf von Sydow ( born April 10, 1929 in Lund ) is a Swedish actor with German - Pomeranian descent and since 2002, of French nationality. Max von Sydow was known for his roles in the films of Ingmar Bergman internationally and is one of the most distinguished international character actors.
Life and work
His father, Carl Wilhelm von Sydow was a professor of Anthropology and Scandinavian, and Irish folk music at the University of Lund, his mother Maria von Sydow (born Baroness Greta Rappe ) worked as a school teacher. Little is known about his childhood.
Von Sydow attended the Cathedral School in Lund, where he co-founded a theater group and gained his first acting experiences. During his school years he learned English and German. From 1948 to 1951 he was at the Royal Dramatic Theatre ( " Dramatan " ) is formed in Stockholm for the actor. Directed by Alf Sjöberg in 1949 he had his film debut in Bara en Mor (Only one mother).
1955 drew von Sydow to Malmö, where he met Ingmar Bergman. By connecting with Bergman was known von Sydow internationally. First, they worked together at the City Theatre Malmö, later in several films. 1957 saw von Sydow with the historical drama film The Seventh Seal his international breakthrough. In the films, shame, The Hour of the Wolf and passion he played under Bergman's direction at the side of Liv Ullmann.
While his work had been limited so far to the Scandinavian region, he agreed to in 1965 for the first time to take on the lead role in an American production. This was about the role of Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told by George Stevens. After that he lived with his family for a time in Los Angeles. The mid-seventies he moved to Rome and worked in numerous Italian film productions. He also was a still, sometimes seen regularly in Hollywood productions in roles as a German officer of the Second World War.
Worth mentioning his role of the priest in the movie The Exorcist, as well as the Blofeld in the James Bond film Never Say Never is. Further roles he took, inter alia, in such films as Three Days of the Condor, Flash Gordon, Conan the Barbarian, in a small town and Minority Report. In the film by Jan Troell Hamsun he played in 1996 the Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun. Despite his involvement in numerous action films, he preferred in his role selection dramas such as Pelle the Conqueror, for which he received an Oscar nomination in 1989 for Best Actor.
In the presentation of many of his roles is attributed to von Sydow of film criticism charisma and an archaic force. His lean figure and his voice described as gnarled reinforce this impression. In this regard, he developed a huge impact in his first collaboration with Bergman in The Seventh Seal as a crusader Anthony block during a game of chess against death. His distinctive voice has also been known by numerous commercials, most recently by computer games.
Private life
Max von Sydow was from 1951 to 1996 in his first marriage to actress Christina Olin married, with whom he has two sons (also known as Kerstin Olin Kjerstin or ). After his divorce he married in 1997, the French documentary filmmaker Catherine Brelet; The two met during the filming of the TV movie The Bible - Solomon know at whose production as an actor Max von Sydow, Catherine Brelet as an assistant to director Roger Young participated. Since then, Catherine Brelet is exclusively the personal assistant to her husband. In 2002, he acquired French citizenship. Domiciled von Sydow in Paris. Its summer vacation spent in a cottage on the Swedish Baltic Sea island of Gotland.