Max von Sydow

(real name Carl Adolf von Sydow). Born Apr. 10,1929, in Lund. Swedish actor.

In 1951, von Sydow graduated from the school of the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm and subsequently performed in theaters in the provinces and in Stockholm. In 1949 he made his debut in a motion picture. His first roles, Nils in Only a Mother (1949) and the drunken carter in Miss Julie (1951), revealed his mastery of character portrayal. His best work was done in the films of the director I. Bergman: the knight Antonius Blok in The Seventh Seal (1956), the magician Vogler in The Magician (1958), the knight Tore in The Virgin Spring (1959), the physician Martin in Through a Glass Darkly (1961), the fisherman Jonas Persson in The Gift (1962), the artist Johan in Hour of the Wolf (1967), and the musician in Shame (1968). Von Sydow’s heroes are tormented over the meaning of existence and in tense, dramatic conflicts remain true to high moral principles. In the 1970’s, von Sydow appeared in the Swedish film The Emigrants and the American film The Exorcist.