Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 10 March 2020

'Exorcist' actor Max von Sydow

dies at age 90

By JAN M. OLSEN the 1965 film "The Greatest 10, 1929, into a family of
Associated Press Story Ever Told," but gained academics in the south-
COPENHAGEN, Denmark widespread international ern Swedish city of Lund.
(AP) — Max von Sydow, the fame as the devil-evicting He was baptized Carl Ad-
self-described "shy boy"- priest in William Friedkin's olf von Sydow, but later
turned-actor known to art controversial 1973 film "The changed his first name to
house audiences through Exorcist." Max, saying his given name
his work with Swedish direc- Tall and lanky, with sullen was "not a good name" af-
tor Ingmar Bergman and blue eyes, a narrow face, ter World War II.
In this Friday, Oct. 16, 2015 file photo, actor Max Von Sydow
attends the Lumiere Award ceremony of the 7th Lumiere Festival later to moviegoers every- pale complexion and Although his family was not
in Lyon, central France. where when he played the a deep and accented interested in theater, he
Associated Press priest in the horror classic speaking voice, von Sydow said his father was a master
"The Exorcist," has died. He was often typecast in Holly- of telling adventure stories
was 90. wood as the sophisticated that fueled his imagination
His agent Jean Diamond villain. as a child.
said Monday the actor, "What I as an actor look for He decided he wanted to
who was born in Sweden is a variety of parts. It is very be an actor and formed
but became a French citi- boring to be stuck in more a theater society with his
zen in 2002, died the previ- or less one type of charac- friends after seeing his first
ous day in France. ter," he once said in an in- play, William Shakespeare's
"It is with a broken heart terview. "A Midsummer Night's
and with infinite sadness In 1980, von Sydow starred Dream," at age 14.
that we have the extreme as the evil emperor Ming He studied at the Royal Dra-
pain of announcing the the Merciless in "Flash Gor- matic Theater in Stockholm
departure of Max von Sy- don." He turned down the and acted in small munici-
dow," Diamond said. role as the sinister Dr. No pality theaters in Sweden
From his 1949 screen debut in the first James Bond film for eight years — an experi-
in the Swedish film "Only a with the same name, but ence he later described as
Mother," von Sydow starred later appeared as the cat- crucial for his career.
in close to 200 film and TV stroking villain Ernst Blofeld "I'm very grateful to the
productions, remaining ac- in the 1983 "Never Say schooling I had in Sweden
tive well into his 80s. Never Again," starring Sean because in order to learn
He received two Academy Connery as Bond. acting you have to work,
Award nominations — for He also played a torment- work, work," he said.
best actor in 1988 for his ed painter in Woody Allen's "I think I owe very much to
gripping portrayal of an im- "Hannah and Her Sisters" those years."
poverished farmer in "Pelle and portrayed the devil It was during this period he
the Conqueror," and best in "Needful Things," a 1991 first met Bergman. In addi-
supporting actor in 2012 horror film based on a nov- tion to "The Seventh Seal,"
for his role as a mute in "Ex- el by Stephen King. In 2015, he would star in 10 other
tremely Loud & Incredibly he appeared briefly in the Bergman films, including
Close." blockbuster "Star Wars: The "The Magician," "The Virgin
More recently, he received Force Awakens." Spring" and "Wild Strawber-
an Emmy nomination for While his characters were ries," and develop a close
his work as the Three-Eyed often sinister, tormented or relationship with Sweden's
Raven in HBO's "Game of evil, the soft-spoken von most famous moviemaker.
Thrones." Sydow said he became an "I can't say exactly what
The Swede was a mainstay actor to overcome his own influence he's had on me,
of nearly a dozen classic, shyness. but it must be enormous,"
angst-ridden films by Berg- "I was a very shy boy when he said of Bergman.
man, including "Wild Straw- I was a kid," he said in an "We did most of that work
berries," "Shame" and the Associated Press interview. when we were much
1957 release "The Seventh "When I started acting in younger. We were free
Seal," in which he featured an amateur group in high — he hadn't yet become
in one of Bergman's most school, although I wasn't world famous and I was just
memorable scenes, as the aware of it at the time, I a regular stage actor with
medieval knight who plays suddenly got a tool in my a few film roles to my credit.
a game of chess against hand that was wonderful. We worked hard and had
the grim reaper. I was allowed to express all a lot of fun."
Actress Inga Landgre, 92, kinds of strange things that I Von Sydow married Swed-
who appeared with him never dared to express be- ish actress Christina Olin in
in "The Seventh Seal "told fore. 1951 and had two sons,
Sweden's news agency Now I could do it with the Clas and Henrik.
TT that "there was a sense character as a shield, as a The couple later divorced
of security in his radiance" defense, and as an excuse. and he married French
adding, "his presence was "I think that for many years I filmmaker Catherine Brelet
his strength." used my profession as some in 1997, with whom he had
Von Sydow made his Hol- kind of a mental therapy." two more sons, Yvan and
lywood debut as Jesus in Von Sydow was born April Cedric.q