Max von Sydow

Von Sydow trained at Sweden's Royal Dramatic Theatre school before beginning a legendary decade-spanning collaboration with director Ingmar Bergman that established him as one of European art cinema's most celebrated actors.

The legendary Bergman-era actor brought total, dry-voiced conviction to Ming the Merciless — a performance of genuine menace inside one of cinema's most extravagant villain costumes. He brought unexpected dramatic gravity to a role many actors would have played purely for camp.

He continued working prolifically in major international productions, including a later Academy Award nomination, until his death in 2020, closing a career spanning nearly seven decades.