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| Max von Sydow in The Seventh Seal Photo: Criterion Collection |
Max von Sydow's French wife has said that the Swedish born star of The Seventh Seal and The Exorcist has died at the age of 90.
Documentarian Catherine Brelet announced that he had died yesterday "with a broken heart and with infinite sadness".
Von Sydow - whose final film Echoes Of The Past is currently in post-production - starred in more than 100 films and TV series. Although he began his career in theatre, he quickly carved out a career onscreen, working 11 times with Ingmar Bergman, including The Seventh Seal, Through A Glass Darkly and Wild Strawberries.
His career saw him span a range of genres and included roles as Jesus (The Greatest Story Ever Told), a priest (The Exorcist), the Devil (Needful Things) and Bond villain Blofeld (Never Say Never Again). He also featured as Lor San Tekka in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and as the Three-Eyed Raven in Game Of Thrones.
He was twice nominated for an Academy Award, for Bille August's historic drama Pelle The Conqueror in 1989 and, in 2011, for Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - the only male Swedish actor to receive an Oscar nod. He relinquished his Swedish citizenship to become a French citizen in 2002.
He has two children from his first marriage to Christina Olin and two from his marriage to Brelet.
Read reviews of Max von Sydow's films here.
