The Legendary Max Von Sydow (Part 2)

In part one of The Film Experience interview with Max von Sydow we discussed The Diving Bell and Butterfly and his early days as an actor on the stage and screen in Sweden. Here's part two...

Nathaniel: Ingmar Bergman's films are still very much alive in public and critical discussion. What do you think is something about him, either as a filmmaker or as a person, that you think people misunderstand?

Max von Sydow: I don't know what people understand or misunderstand. But I presume that most people think that he was an awfully serious and difficult person as a director. Which he was not. On the contrary, he was—he was a man of great charm and great intelligence of course. Great charm with a very kind of fresh, direct sense of humor, creating a lot of fun and enthusiasm around the project whether it was a film production or on stage. He had the ability to really, how should I say this, make people feel that they were very important for his—for his art… and make them give their uttermost to together achieve something extraordinary. He was very inspirational in that respect.

Nathaniel: So in person there was humor there. That's actually one of the critiques people have of his films –not one I share, I think he's brilliant –that… that they're so serious that there is no…

Max von Sydow: Well, some of them are, most of them are. But making them was rarely a serious --of course making the serious scenes that was done with great seriousness and with enormous concentration. But inbetween there was a lot of joking.

Nathaniel: Interesting. Now, we always hear that Woody Allen doesn't communicate much with his actors. But I imagine with you when you did Hannah and Her Sisters… did he barrage you with questions about Bergman?

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