Maximilian Schell (born December 8, 1930) is a Swiss-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 for Best Foreign Language Film.
Schell has refused to be typecast. Although he was top billed in a number of Nazi-era themed films as The Man in the Glass Booth, A Bridge Too Far, Cross of Iron, The Odessa File, Julia, and Judgment at Nuremburg, he has also appeared in Topkapi, The Black Hole, The Freshman, Stalin, Deep Impact, Candles in the Dark, and Erste Liebe.
Among fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Schell is best known for his appearance in Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark, a German language version of Hamlet screened on the show.
Schell has also served as a writer, producer and director for a variety of films. In 2002 he released My Sister Maria, a documentary about the career of and his relationship with Maria Schell.
In 2000, he collapsed and was diagnosed with pancreatitis related to his diabetes. At the time, he was starring on Broadway in the premiere of the stage version of Judgment at Nuremberg, changing roles from the defense lawyer to the lead judge on trial for crimes against humanity.
Since the 1990s, Schell has appeared in many German language made-for-TV films, such as the 2003 film Alles Glück dieser Erde (All the Luck in the World) opposite Uschi Glas and in the mini-series The Return of the Dancing Master (2004), which was based on Henning Mankell's novel.
He is godfather to Angelina Jolie, daughter of Jon Voight and Micheline Bertrand.
Festival in Cannes (2002)
