Von Sydow also made his fair share of popcorn vehicles too - out of “curiosity” and a need for “change.” The art house regular was generally cast as the international villain, appearing in campy fare such as “Flash Gordon” or David Lynch’s “Dune” or “Judge Dredd” with Sylvester Stallone. That role went against the grain of Von Sydow’s usual authority figures, casting him as the weathered Swedish widower Lasse whose remarkably tender father-son relationship is at the heart of the film. The film was Denmark’s official Oscar entry and won in the foreign language category. His portrayal of an impoverished farm worker in 1988’s “Pelle the Conqueror” by Danish filmmaker Bille August, is often considered one of his greatest roles and it brought him worldwide acclaim as well as his first lead actor Oscar nomination, despite it being a foreign language film. Von Sydow received his second Academy Award nomination, for supporting actor, for playing a mysterious man who communicates only through written notes in “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” Von Sydow’s first nomination, for lead actor, was for the 1987 drama “Pelle the Conqueror.” debut as Jesus Christ in George Stevens’ final film, 1965’s “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” Von Sydow built up an impressively varied body of work that included William Friedkin’s 1973 horror blockbuster “The Exorcist,” Sydney Pollack’s 1975 thriller “Three Days of the Condor” and Martin Scorsese’s 2010 psychological thriller “Shutter Island.” I have learned concentration and the joy of acting.”Īfter making his U.S. “Whatever good I have done on screen I owe to” Bergman, Von Sydow said in a 2013 Times interview. He also played his grandfather in 1992’s “The Best Intentions.”
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He last worked with the filmmaker on the TV movie “Private Confessions” (1998), written by Bergman and directed by Liv Ullman, a frequent co-star of Von Sydow’s, playing his mother’s Uncle Jacob. He starred in several of his landmark movies, including 1958’s “The Magician,” 1960’s “The Virgin Spring,” 1961’s “Through a Glass Darkly” and 1963’s “Winter Light.” He played the lead in only six of the 11 features he and Bergman made together between 19. It was the first of 11 memorable films with Bergman as part of the filmmaker’s repertory company of actors. Von Sydow hit the global stage playing chess with Death in Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” in 1957. Many of his films - and there are more than 100 of them - are considered classics, beginning with his early work with Swedish icon and former mentor Bergman.
In a career that stretches from 1949 onward, there was rarely a year when he didn’t have a project in movie houses. Von Sydow continued to work in theater and smaller Swedish projects in his later years. The veteran actor’s rich repertory included Jesus Christ, clergymen, pontiffs, knights, conquerors, attorneys, sinister doctors, stateside villains and the devil incarnate - and that was just on film.
The two-time Oscar nominee died Sunday, his agency confirmed Monday morning. Swedish actor Max von Sydow, the stately import whose theater roots laid the groundwork for a vast onscreen career in nearly a dozen Ingmar Bergman productions as well as defining roles in “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “The Exorcist” and “Game of Thrones,” has died. As stated in the second reference to the game, he actually played chess with Death. MaIn a previous version of this story, the first reference to Max Von Sydow’s chess game in Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” stated that he played the game with the devil.