Max von Sydow

Max Von Sydow: Eight of his most famous roles

9 March 2020

Swedish actor Max Von Sydow, who has died at the age of 90, starred in more than 100 films. Here are a few of his most famous roles:

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Image captionVeteran critic Terrence Rafferty described Max Von Sydow, seen here in one of his most famous roles in The Exorcist, as "the greatest actor alive" in a 2015 Atlantic article

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Image captionThe star played Father Merrin in William Friedkin’s famous 1973 adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s novel of the same name. With the aid of make-up, he aged 30 years for the role

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Image captionHe played Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told in 1965. The epic film had an all-star cast including Charlton Heston and Angela Lansbury

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Image captionThe star earned a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of a man determined to bring Christianity to 1820s Maui in 1966 film Hawaii - here, he's pictured with on-screen wife, Julie Andrews

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Image captionHe starred with Liv Ullman in 1968's Hour of the Wolf, the first in Ingmar Bergman's trilogy in which he plays a tortured artist.

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Image captionUllman and Von Sydow also starred together in 1971 film The Emigrants. He also appeared in the sequel, The New Land. The film followed the journey of farmers and religious outcasts from Småland to Minnesota in the 19th Century

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Image captionHe was nominated for two Oscars during his career - including best actor in 1987 for Pelle the Conqueror. His other nomination came much later - for the 2011 family drama Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

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Image captionVon Sydow (left) also played the father of a man who has locked-in syndrome in Julian Schnabel's 2007 film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - it's based on a true story of a French man who suffered a stroke

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Image captionThe actor won praise for his portrayal of a contract killer in Three Days of the Condor (1975) - his character is hired to eliminate CIA analyst Robert Redford’s colleagues at the New York office of the American Literary Historical Society
BBC