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Maximilian Schell

Acting 83 (deceased) years old Vienna, Austria ★ 1.1
Born: December 8, 1930
Died: February 1, 2014

Biography

Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was a Swiss actor. Born in Austria, his parents were involved in the arts and he grew up surrounded by performance and literature. While he was still a child, his family fled to Switzerland in 1938 when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, and they settled in Zürich. After World War II ended, Schell took up acting and directing full-time.

Schell won the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing a lawyer in the legal drama Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). He was Oscar-nominated for playing a character with multiple identities in The Man in the Glass Booth (1975) and for playing a man resisting Nazism in Julia (1977). Fluent in both English and German, Schell earned top billing in a number of Nazi-era themed films. He acted in films such as Topkapi (1964), The Deadly Affair (1967), Counterpoint (1968), Simón Bolívar (1969), The Odessa File (1974), A Bridge Too Far (1977), and Deep Impact (1998).

On television, he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for the NBC film Miss Rose White and the HBO television film Stalin (1992), the later of which earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. He also portrayed Otto Frank in the TV film The Diary of Anne Frank (1980), the Russian emperor Peter the Great in the NBC series Peter the Great (1986), Frederick the Great in the British series Young Catherine (1991), and Brother Jean le Maistre in the miniseries Joan of Arc (1999).

Schell also performed in a number of stage plays, including a celebrated performance as Prince Hamlet. Schell was an accomplished pianist and conductor, performing with Claudio Abbado and Leonard Bernstein, and with orchestras in Berlin and Vienna. His elder sister was the internationally noted actress Maria Schell; he produced the documentary tribute My Sister Maria in 2002.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Maximilian Schell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

External Links

🎬 IMDb

Known For

The Dick Cavett Show
The Dick Cavett Show Self - Guest 1968
Bambi
Bambi Self - Laudation 1948
Wiseguy
Wiseguy Amado Guzman 1987
Deep Impact
Deep Impact Jason Lerner 1998
A Bridge Too Far
A Bridge Too Far General der Waffen-SS Wilhelm Bittrich 1977

Filmography

Acting Credits (153)

Les brigands
Les brigands Mr. Escher 2015
Jedermann Remixed
Jedermann Remixed Jedermann (archive footage) 2011
Maximilian Schell - Ein sehnsüchtiger Rebell
Maximilian Schell - Ein sehnsüchtiger Rebell Self 2010
Im Gespräch mit Teddy Podgorski
Im Gespräch mit Teddy Podgorski Self 2010
Black Flowers
Black Flowers Jacob Krinsten 2009
Darkness
Darkness 2009
The Brothers Bloom
The Brothers Bloom Diamond Dog 2008
Markus Lanz
Markus Lanz Self 2008
Imperium der Päpste
Imperium der Päpste Sprecher 2008
The Shell Seekers
The Shell Seekers Lawrence Sterne 2007
Die Rosenkönigin
Die Rosenkönigin Karl Friedrich Weidemann 2007
Verstörung - und eine Art von Poesie. Die Filmlegende Bernhard Wicki
Verstörung - und eine Art von Poesie. Die Filmlegende Bernhard Wicki Himself 2007
Pilawas großes Geschichts-Quiz
Pilawas großes Geschichts-Quiz Self 2007
House of the Sleeping Beauties
House of the Sleeping Beauties Kogi 2006
Die Alpenklinik
Die Alpenklinik Dr. Alexander Ohlendorf 2006
Semperopernball
Semperopernball Self 2006
Die Liebe eines Priesters
Die Liebe eines Priesters Father Christoph 2005
G&G – Gesichter und Geschichten
G&G – Gesichter und Geschichten Self 2005
Servus, Hansi Hinterseer
Servus, Hansi Hinterseer Self 2004
In Conversation: Abby Mann and Maximillian Schell
In Conversation: Abby Mann and Maximillian Schell Self 2004
Kulturplatz
Kulturplatz Self 2004
The Return of the Dancing Master
The Return of the Dancing Master Fernando Hereira 2004
Coast to Coast
Coast to Coast Casimir 2004
Alles Glück dieser Erde
Alles Glück dieser Erde Xaver Schönborn 2003
Der Fürst und das Mädchen
Der Fürst und das Mädchen 2003
Der Fürst und das Mädchen
Der Fürst und das Mädchen Friedrich Fürst von Thorwald 2003
Menschen bei Maischberger
Menschen bei Maischberger Self 2003
Der Bestseller - Mord auf italienisch
Der Bestseller - Mord auf italienisch Karl Steingraf 2002
Gero von Boehm begegnet...
Gero von Boehm begegnet... Self 2002
My Sister Maria
My Sister Maria Himself 2002
Liebe, Lügen, Leidenschaften
Liebe, Lügen, Leidenschaften Franz Steininger 2002
Festival in Cannes
Festival in Cannes Viktor Kovner 2001
I Love You, Baby
I Love You, Baby Walter Ekland 2000
Just Messing About
Just Messing About Poser 2000
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc Brother Jean le Maistre 1999
On the Wings of Love
On the Wings of Love Hochberg 1999
Beckmann
Beckmann Self 1999
Sternstunde Kunst
Sternstunde Kunst Self 1998
Vampires
Vampires Cardinal Alba 1998
Deep Impact
Deep Impact Jason Lerner 1998
Left Luggage
Left Luggage Mr. Silberschmidt 1998
The Johannes B. Kerner Show
The Johannes B. Kerner Show Self 1998
Telling Lies in America
Telling Lies in America Dr. Istvan Jonas 1997
Zwischen Rosen
Zwischen Rosen Carl Stern 1997
The Eighteenth Angel
The Eighteenth Angel Father Simeon 1997
The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years
The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years Cardinal Vittorio 1996
The Vampyre Wars
The Vampyre Wars Rodan 1996
Abbado: The Silence that Follows the Music
Abbado: The Silence that Follows the Music Self 1996
Die Harald Schmidt Show
Die Harald Schmidt Show Self 1995
Lebens-Künstler
Lebens-Künstler Self 1995
Kulturzeit
Kulturzeit self 1995
alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio
alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio Self 1994
Little Odessa
Little Odessa Arkady Shapira 1994
Abraham
Abraham Pharaoh 1994
Abraham
Abraham Pharao 1994
Abraham
Abraham Pharao 1993
Candles in the Dark
Candles in the Dark Colonel Arkush 1993
Justice
Justice Isaak Kohler 1993
A Far Off Place
A Far Off Place Col. Mopani Theron 1993
Stalin
Stalin Vladimir Lenin 1992
Miss Rose White
Miss Rose White Mordecai Weiss 1992
Riverboat
Riverboat Self 1992
Labyrinth
Labyrinth The Filmmaker 1991
Why Havel?
Why Havel? 1991
Young Catherine
Young Catherine Frederick the Great 1991
You Can't Live Like That
You Can't Live Like That German Commentator 1990
The Freshman
The Freshman Larry London 1990
Romy Award
Romy Award Self 1990
The Rose Garden
The Rose Garden Aaron 1989
Seitenblicke
Seitenblicke self 1987
Wiseguy
Wiseguy Amado Guzman 1987
Nachtcafé
Nachtcafé Self 1987
Showgeschichten
Showgeschichten self 1986
Peter the Great
Peter the Great Peter the Great 1986
The Assisi Underground
The Assisi Underground Col. Müller 1985
To Be Hamlet
To Be Hamlet Self 1985
Marlene
Marlene Himself 1984
Man Under Suspicion
Man Under Suspicion Lawyer Landau 1984
Goldene Kamera
Goldene Kamera Self - Presenter 1984
Les Îles
Les Îles Fabrice 1983
The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera Sandor Korvin/Phantom 1983
Bernstein/Beethoven
Bernstein/Beethoven Self (commentary) 1982
The Chosen
The Chosen Professor David Malter 1981
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank Otto Frank 1980
Heut' abend
Heut' abend Self 1980
The Black Hole
The Black Hole Dr. Hans Reinhardt 1979
Together?
Together? Giovanni 1979
Bavarian Film Awards
Bavarian Film Awards Self 1979
Avalanche Express
Avalanche Express Colonel Nikolai Bunin 1979
Players
Players Marco 1979
Tales from the Vienna Woods
Tales from the Vienna Woods Theatre Visitor 1979
NDR Talk Show
NDR Talk Show Self 1979
End of the Game
End of the Game Robert Schmied on Audiotape (voice) (uncredited) 1978
Julia
Julia Johann 1977
A Bridge Too Far
A Bridge Too Far General der Waffen-SS Wilhelm Bittrich 1977
Cross of Iron
Cross of Iron Hauptmann Stransky 1977
St. Ives
St. Ives Dr. John Constable 1976
Kölner Treff
Kölner Treff Self 1976
The Day That Shook the World
The Day That Shook the World Đuro Šarac 1975
People's Choice Awards
People's Choice Awards Self 1975
The Man in the Glass Booth
The Man in the Glass Booth Arthur Goldman 1975
The Odessa File
The Odessa File Eduard Roschmann 1974
The Pedestrian
The Pedestrian Andreas Giese 1973
Je später der Abend
Je später der Abend Self 1973
Pope Joan
Pope Joan Adrian 1972
Paulina 1880
Paulina 1880 Count Michele Cantarini 1972
V.I.P. Schaukel
V.I.P. Schaukel Self 1971
First Love
First Love Vater 1970
Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar Simón Bolívar 1969
Krakatoa, East of Java
Krakatoa, East of Java Captain Chris Hanson 1969
Heidi
Heidi Richard Sessemann 1968
The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers 1968
The Castle
The Castle K 1968
The Dick Cavett Show
The Dick Cavett Show Self - Guest 1968
Counterpoint
Counterpoint Gen. Schiller 1967
The Desperate Ones
The Desperate Ones Marek 1967
The Deadly Affair
The Deadly Affair Dieter Frey 1967
Die venezianischen Zwillinge
Die venezianischen Zwillinge Zanetto und Tonio 1966
John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums
John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums German Narrator 1966
Return from the Ashes
Return from the Ashes Stanislaw Pilgrin 1965
Der seidene Schuh
Der seidene Schuh Don Rodrigo 1965
Der seidene Schuh
Der seidene Schuh Don Rodrigo 1965
Topkapi
Topkapi Walter Harper 1964
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre 1963
The Reluctant Saint
The Reluctant Saint Giuseppe 1962
The Condemned of Altona
The Condemned of Altona Franz von Gerlach 1962
Five Finger Exercise
Five Finger Exercise Walter 1962
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Hamlet 1961
Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg Hans Rolfe 1961
The Fifth Column
The Fifth Column 1960
Eine Dummheit macht auch der Gescheiteste
Eine Dummheit macht auch der Gescheiteste Jegor Dmitritsch Glumow 1959
Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg Otto Rolfe 1959
Stars in the Ring
Stars in the Ring Self 1959
Die sechste Frau
Die sechste Frau Henry Howard 1959
Die Bernauerin
Die Bernauerin Herzog Albrecht von Bayern 1958
Children of the Mountains
Children of the Mountains Josef Ospel 1958
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse 1958
The Young Lions
The Young Lions Capt. Hardenberg 1958
Der Meisterdieb
Der Meisterdieb 1958
The Last Ones Shall Be First
The Last Ones Shall Be First Lorenz Darrandt 1957
Taxichauffeur Bänz
Taxichauffeur Bänz Toni Schellenberg 1957
Ein Herz kehrt heim
Ein Herz kehrt heim Wolfgang Thomas, beider Sohn 1956
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 Otto Rolfe 1956
Die Ehe des Dr. med. Danwitz
Die Ehe des Dr. med. Danwitz Dr. Oswald Hauser 1956
The Girl from Flanders
The Girl from Flanders Alexander Haller 1956
Ripening Youth
Ripening Youth Jürgen Sengebusch 1955
The Plot to Assassinate Hitler
The Plot to Assassinate Hitler Mitglied des Kreisauer Kreises 1955
Children, Mother, and the General
Children, Mother, and the General Soldat, der nicht mehr mitmacht 1955
The Oscars
The Oscars Self 1953
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame Rose's Father 1951
German Film Award
German Film Award Self 1951
Bambi
Bambi Self - Laudation 1948
Bambi
Bambi Self 1948

Directing Credits (8)

Writing Credits (6)

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