(Von Sydow in "The Exorcist" in 1973.)
BY LEE PFEIFFER
Max Von Sydow, the internationally acclaimed Swedish leading man who found fame in the films of Ingmar Bergman, has died at age 90. Von Sydow's most famous role may have been the knight who plays a game of chess with Death in an iconic scene from Bergman's 1958 classic "The Seventh Seal", but he also enjoyed broad international appeal. His other iconic role was as Father Merrin, the aging titular character in director William Friedkin's sensational 1973 film version of William Peter Blatty's bestseller, "The Exorcist". Von Sydow was already a major star in European cinema when he was cast in his first leading role in a Hollywood film, director George Stevens' 1965 religious epic "The Greatest Story Ever Told" in which he was cast as Jesus Christ. The film proved to be a major boxoffice flop but Von Sydow personally enjoyed good reviews for his dignified performance. From that point on, he would be a regular presence in English language cinema as well as European films. He won acclaim in a supporting performance as a dreary, humorless intellectual in Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters". Von Sydow's career extended until the present day and he won a new generation of fans through his appearances in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in 2015 and in episodes of "Game of Thrones". For more about his life and career, click here.