Maximilian Schell (born December 8, 1930) is an Austrian actor. His late elder sister, Maria Schell, was also an actress, as are his two other far less well-known siblings, Carl and Immy (Immaculata) Schell. Born in Vienna and raised in Zurich, Switzerland, he made his Hollywood debut in 1958 in the World War II film “The Young Lions”. In 1961, he took the role of the defense attorney in Judgment at Nuremberg, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, a role he had initiated in a live television performance. 1974's “The Pedestrian”, which Schell wrote, produced, directed, and starred in, was nominated as Best Foreign Language Film by the Academy. He acted, wrote, produced, was Oscar and Golden Globe nominated.
In 1958 Maximilian Schell made his Broadway debut in Ira Levin's "Interlock" and in 1965 starred in John Osborn's groundbreaking "A patriot for me" in London and on Broadway. He has twice played "Hamlet" on stage, first under the direction of the legendary Gustaf Grundgens and later under his own direction in Munich. For five years from 1978 to 1982 he portrayed "Everyman" at the Salzburg Festival.
In 1984 Mr. Schell made the widely hailed Academy Award nominated documentary "Marlene" about screen legend Marlene Dietrich which also won the New York Film Critics Award. In 1992 he won a Golden Globe for his performance as Lenin in a T.V. production of "Stakin," directed by Ivan Passer, just one of the countless roles he has played on television since the 1950's. In 1990 his first novel "The Rebel" was published. In 2000 Mr. Schell was awarded "The Actor of the Millennium" at the Baltic Pearl Film Festival, in Latvia. He starred on Broadway (playing the role originally created on film by Burt Lancaster), in the Broadway production of "Judgement of Nuremberg," and in Los Angeles he directed to great acclaim Wagner's "Lohengrin" for the Los Angeles Opera. In 2004 he completed directing a documentary film about his sister called "My sister Maria," which has been earning praise throughout Europe. He now lives partly in Los Angeles and in Carinthia in a small village in the mountains.
|
|
|
