Max von Sydow was born in a middle-class family in Lund, where his father was an ethnologist. When Max von Sydow was in high school, he and a few fellow students, started a theatre club which encouraged his interest in acting. After conscription he began to study at the Royal Dramatic Theatre`s acting school.

Max von Sydow first role was in Bara en mor. After graduation he worked at the city theatres in Norrkoeping and Malmo. His work in the movies by Ingmar Bergman made him well-known internationally, and he started to get offers from abroad. Max von Sydow career abroad began with The Greatest Story Ever Told and Hawaii.

Since then, Max von Sydow career includes very different kind of characters, like the artist Frederick in Hannah and Her Sisters. In 1987 he made his directing debut with Ved vejen. Max von Sydow has become one of Sweden`s most admired and professional actors.