Maximilian Schell
Biography
Maximilian Schell was a Swiss actor born in Austria on December 8, 1930. His family fled to Switzerland in 1938 when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany. After World War II, Schell took up acting and directing full-time. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for a role in the 1961 film Judgment at Nuremberg. Schell was also Oscar-nominated for his performances in The Man in the Glass Booth (1975) and Julia (1977). He was fluent in both English and his native language. Schell had a career spanning multiple film and television credits, with over 150 known credits. He passed away on February 1, 2014, at the age of 83.
Career overview
Maximilian Schell was a Swiss actor born in Austria on December 8, 1930. He took up acting and directing full-time after World War II ended. Schell's career spanned multiple roles in film and television.
Schell won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a lawyer in the legal drama Judgment at Nuremberg. He was also Oscar-nominated for playing a character with multiple identities in The Man in the Glass Booth and for playing a man resisting Nazism in Julia.
Schell's acting credits include multiple films and television shows, with a total of 152 known credits. His career was marked by a range of performances in various genres.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- Les brigands (2015) as Mr. Escher
- Jedermann Remixed (2011) as Jedermann (archive footage)
- Im Gespräch mit Teddy Podgorski (2010) as Self
- Maximilian Schell - Ein sehnsüchtiger Rebell (2010) as Self
- Darkness (2009)
- Black Flowers (2009) as Jacob Krinsten
- Markus Lanz (2008) as Self
- The Brothers Bloom (2008) as Diamond Dog
- Imperium der Päpste (2008) as Sprecher
- Imperium der Päpste (2008) Creator
- Die Rosenkönigin (2007) as Karl Friedrich Weidemann
- Pilawas großes Geschichts-Quiz (2007) as Self
- The Shell Seekers (2007) as Lawrence Sterne
- Verstörung - und eine Art von Poesie. Die Filmlegende Bernhard Wicki (2007) as Himself
- Semperopernball (2006) as Self
- House of the Sleeping Beauties (2006) as Kogi
- Die Alpenklinik (2006) as Dr. Alexander Ohlendorf
- G&G – Gesichter und Geschichten (2005) as Self
- Die Liebe eines Priesters (2005) as Father Christoph
- Kulturplatz (2004) as Self
- Servus, Hansi Hinterseer (2004) as Self
- Coast to Coast (2004) as Casimir
- The Return of the Dancing Master (2004) as Fernando Hereira
- In Conversation: Abby Mann and Maximillian Schell (2004) as Self
- Menschen bei Maischberger (2003) as Self
- Der Fürst und das Mädchen (2003)
- Der Fürst und das Mädchen (2003) as Friedrich Fürst von Thorwald
- Alles Glück dieser Erde (2003) as Xaver Schönborn
- Gero von Boehm begegnet... (2002) as Self
- Liebe, Lügen, Leidenschaften (2002) as Franz Steininger
- My Sister Maria (2002) as Himself
- My Sister Maria (2002) Executive Producer
- My Sister Maria (2002) Director
- Der Bestseller - Mord auf italienisch (2002) as Karl Steingraf
- Festival in Cannes (2001) as Viktor Kovner
- Just Messing About (2000) as Poser
- I Love You, Baby (2000) as Walter Ekland
- Beckmann (1999) as Self
- Joan of Arc (1999) as Brother Jean le Maistre
- On the Wings of Love (1999) as Hochberg
- The Johannes B. Kerner Show (1998) as Self
- Deep Impact (1998) as Jason Lerner
- Sternstunde Kunst (1998) as Self
- Vampires (1998) as Cardinal Alba
- Left Luggage (1998) as Mr. Silberschmidt
- Zwischen Rosen (1997) as Carl Stern
- Telling Lies in America (1997) as Dr. Istvan Jonas
- The Eighteenth Angel (1997) as Father Simeon
- The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996) as Cardinal Vittorio
- The Vampyre Wars (1996) as Rodan
- Abbado: The Silence that Follows the Music (1996) as Self
- Die Harald Schmidt Show (1995) as Self
- Kulturzeit (1995) as self
- Lebens-Künstler (1995) as Self
- alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio (1994) as Self
- Little Odessa (1994) as Arkady Shapira
- Abraham (1994) as Pharaoh
- Abraham (1994) as Pharao
- Abraham (1993) as Pharao
- A Far Off Place (1993) as Col. Mopani Theron
- Justice (1993) as Isaak Kohler
- Candles in the Dark (1993) as Colonel Arkush
- Candles in the Dark (1993) Director
- Riverboat (1992) as Self
- Stalin (1992) as Vladimir Lenin
- Miss Rose White (1992) as Mordecai Weiss
- Young Catherine (1991) as Frederick the Great
- Why Havel? (1991)
- Labyrinth (1991) as The Filmmaker
- Romy Award (1990) as Self
- The Freshman (1990) as Larry London
- You Can't Live Like That (1990) as German Commentator
- The Rose Garden (1989) as Aaron
- Nachtcafé (1987) as Self
- Wiseguy (1987) as Amado Guzman
- Seitenblicke (1987) as self
- Showgeschichten (1986) as self
- Peter the Great (1986) as Peter the Great
- Die Föhnforscher (1985) Co-Producer
- The Assisi Underground (1985) as Col. Müller
- To Be Hamlet (1985) as Self
- Goldene Kamera (1984) as Self - Presenter
- Marlene (1984) as Himself
- Marlene (1984) Director
- Man Under Suspicion (1984) as Lawyer Landau
- The Phantom of the Opera (1983) as Sandor Korvin/Phantom
- Les Îles (1983) as Fabrice
- Bernstein/Beethoven (1982) as Self (commentary)
- The Chosen (1981) as Professor David Malter
- Heut' abend (1980) as Self
- The Diary of Anne Frank (1980) as Otto Frank
- NDR Talk Show (1979) as Self
- Bavarian Film Awards (1979) as Self
- The Black Hole (1979) as Dr. Hans Reinhardt
- Avalanche Express (1979) as Colonel Nikolai Bunin
- Players (1979) as Marco
- Together? (1979) as Giovanni
- Tales from the Vienna Woods (1979) as Theatre Visitor
- Tales from the Vienna Woods (1979) Writer
- Tales from the Vienna Woods (1979) Producer
- Tales from the Vienna Woods (1979) Director
- End of the Game (1978) as Robert Schmied on Audiotape (voice) (uncredited)
- End of the Game (1978) Director
- End of the Game (1978) Writer
- End of the Game (1978) Producer
- A Bridge Too Far (1977) as General der Waffen-SS Wilhelm Bittrich
- Cross of Iron (1977) as Hauptmann Stransky
- Julia (1977) as Johann
- Kölner Treff (1976) as Self
- St. Ives (1976) as Dr. John Constable
- The Clown (1976) Producer
- People's Choice Awards (1975) as Self
- The Man in the Glass Booth (1975) as Arthur Goldman
- The Day That Shook the World (1975) as Đuro Šarac
- The Odessa File (1974) as Eduard Roschmann
- Je später der Abend (1973) as Self
- The Pedestrian (1973) as Andreas Giese
- The Pedestrian (1973) Director
- The Pedestrian (1973) Writer
- The Pedestrian (1973) Producer
- Paulina 1880 (1972) as Count Michele Cantarini
- Pope Joan (1972) as Adrian
- V.I.P. Schaukel (1971) as Self
- Trotta (1971) Screenplay
- First Love (1970) as Vater
- First Love (1970) Director
- First Love (1970) Producer
- First Love (1970) Writer
- Krakatoa, East of Java (1969) as Captain Chris Hanson
- Simón Bolívar (1969) as Simón Bolívar
- The Dick Cavett Show (1968) as Self - Guest
- The Three Musketeers (1968)
- Heidi (1968) as Richard Sessemann
- The Castle (1968) as K
- The Castle (1968) Writer
- Counterpoint (1967) as Gen. Schiller
- The Deadly Affair (1967) as Dieter Frey
- Alles zum Guten (1967) Director
- The Desperate Ones (1967) as Marek
- Die venezianischen Zwillinge (1966) as Zanetto und Tonio
- John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums (1966) as German Narrator
- Der seidene Schuh (1965) as Don Rodrigo
- Return from the Ashes (1965) as Stanislaw Pilgrin
- Topkapi (1964) as Walter Harper
- Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963)
- The Reluctant Saint (1962) as Giuseppe
- The Condemned of Altona (1962) as Franz von Gerlach
- Five Finger Exercise (1962) as Walter
- Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) as Hans Rolfe
- Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1961) as Hamlet
- The Fifth Column (1960)
- Stars in the Ring (1959) as Self
- Judgment at Nuremberg (1959) as Otto Rolfe
- Eine Dummheit macht auch der Gescheiteste (1959) as Jegor Dmitritsch Glumow
- Die sechste Frau (1959) as Henry Howard
- Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958)
- The Young Lions (1958) as Capt. Hardenberg
- Der Meisterdieb (1958)
- Children of the Mountains (1958) as Josef Ospel
- Die Bernauerin (1958) as Herzog Albrecht von Bayern
- Taxichauffeur Bänz (1957) as Toni Schellenberg
- The Last Ones Shall Be First (1957) as Lorenz Darrandt
- Playhouse 90 (1956) as Otto Rolfe
- The Girl from Flanders (1956) as Alexander Haller
- Die Ehe des Dr. med. Danwitz (1956) as Dr. Oswald Hauser
- Ein Herz kehrt heim (1956) as Wolfgang Thomas, beider Sohn
- Children, Mother, and the General (1955) as Soldat, der nicht mehr mitmacht
- Ripening Youth (1955) as Jürgen Sengebusch
- The Plot to Assassinate Hitler (1955) as Mitglied des Kreisauer Kreises
- The Oscars (1953) as Self
- German Film Award (1951) as Self
- Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) as Rose's Father
- Bambi (1948) as Self - Laudation
- Bambi (1948) as Self