Maximilian Schell

Austrian actor, writer, director, and producer

Written by Melinda C. Shepherd

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Oct 10, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Born:: December 8, 1930, Vienna, Austria

Died:: February 1, 2014, Innsbruck, Austria (aged 83)

Married To:: Iva Mihanovic (married 2013); Natalya Andreychenko (1985–2005)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Les brigands" (2015); "Flores negras" (2009); "The Brothers Bloom" (2008); "Giganten" (2007); "Der Fürst und das Mädchen" (2003–2007); "The Shell Seekers" (2006); "Das Haus der schlafenden Schönen" (2006); "Terra X - Rätsel alter Weltkulturen" (2005); "Liebe, Lügen, Leidenschaften" (2002); "Festival in Cannes" (2001); "Fisimatenten" (2000); "I Love You, Baby" (2000); "Joan of Arc" (1999); "Wer liebt, dem wachsen Flügel..." (1999); "Deep Impact" (1998); "Vampires" (1998); "Left Luggage" (1998); "The Eighteenth Angel" (1997); "Telling Lies in America" (1997); "Biography" (1997); "Through Roses" (1997); "The Vampyre Wars" (1996); "Little Odessa" (1994); "Abraham" (1993); "Justiz" (1993); "A Far Off Place" (1993); "Wiseguy" (1990); "The Freshman" (1990); "The Rose Garden" (1989); "An American Place" (1988); "Laughter in the Dark" (1986); "Peter the Great" (1986); "The Assisi Underground" (1985); "Morgen in Alabama" (1984); "Les îles" (1983); "The Chosen" (1981); "Arch of Triumph" (1980); "The Black Hole" (1979); "Amo non amo" (1979); "Avalanche Express" (1979); "Players" (1979); "Julia" (1977); "A Bridge Too Far" (1977); "Cross of Iron" (1977); "St. Ives" (1976); "The Assassination at Sarajevo" (1975); "The Man in the Glass Booth" (1975); "The Odessa File" (1974); "Der Fußgänger" (1973); "Pope Joan" (1972); "Paulina 1880" (1972); "Erste Liebe" (1970); "Simón Bolívar" (1969); "Krakatoa: East of Java" (1968); "Das Schloß" (1968); "Counterpoint" (1968); "The Desperate Ones" (1967); "The Deadly Affair" (1967); "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" (1967); "The Doctor and the Devil" (1965); "Return from the Ashes" (1965); "Der seidene Schuh" (1965); "Topkapi" (1964); "The Reluctant Saint" (1962); "I sequestrati di Altona" (1962); "Kraft Mystery Theater" (1962); "Five Finger Exercise" (1962); "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961); "Alcoa Theatre" (1960); "Goodyear Theatre" (1960); "Sunday Showcase" (1960); "Buick-Electra Playhouse" (1960); "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1959); "Playhouse 90" (1959); "Kinder der Berge" (1958); "The Young Lions" (1958); "Die Letzten werden die Ersten sein" (1957); "Taxichauffeur Bänz" (1957); "Ein Herz kehrt heim" (1956); "Die Ehe des Dr. med. Danwitz" (1956); "Ein Mädchen aus Flandern" (1956); "Reifende Jugend" (1955); "Der 20. Juli" (1955); "Kinder, Mütter und ein General" (1955)

Movies/Tv Shows (Directed):: "Meine Schwester Maria" (2002); "An American Place" (1988); "Marlene" (1984); "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald" (1979); "Der Richter und sein Henker" (1975); "Der Fußgänger" (1973); "Erste Liebe" (1970)

Maximilian Schell (born December 8, 1930, Vienna, Austria—died February 1, 2014, Innsbruck, Austria) was an Austrian actor and filmmaker who was most closely associated with the post-World War II courtroom drama Judgment at Nuremberg. Schell created the role of the accused Nazi war criminals’ eloquent defense attorney, Hans Rolfe, in the play’s original 1959 production on the TV anthology series Playhouse 90 and won the Academy Award for best actor for his re-creation of that role in the 1961 film adaptation; he later portrayed Ernst Janning, the chief defendant, on the Broadway stage.

Schell’s fiercely anti-Nazi family fled to Zürich after the 1938 Anschluss, in which Austria was annexed by Germany, and he served (1948–49) in the Swiss army. Schell began acting in West German films and onstage before following his older sister, actress Maria Schell, to Hollywood, where he made his debut as a German army officer in The Young Lions (1958).

Despite his rugged good looks, Schell eschewed leading-man roles in favour of more complex individuals, many of whom were drawn from the Nazi era. He earned Oscar nominations for his roles as a suspected Nazi war criminal in The Man in the Glass Booth (1975) and as an anti-Nazi patriot in Julia (1977) and received Emmy Award nominations in 1992 and 1993, respectively, for his portrayal of a Holocaust survivor in Miss Rose White and of the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin in Stalin. Schell also wrote, produced, and directed several films, most notably documentaries on German actress Marlene Dietrich (1984) and on his sister Maria (2002).

Melinda C. Shepherd