Maximilian Schell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Maximilian Schell
Schell in 1970
Born	(1930-12-08)8 December 1930 Vienna, Austria
Died	1 February 2014(2014-02-01) (aged 83) Innsbruck, Austria
Citizenship	Austria Switzerland
Occupation	Actor screenwriter director producer production manager
Years active	1955–2014
Spouse(s)	Natalya Andrejchenko ​ ​ (m. 1985; div. 2005)​ Iva Mihanovic ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	1
Relatives	Maria Schell (sister)

Maximilian Schell (born December 8, 1930 – died February 1, 2014) was a famous actor from Austria and Switzerland. He also wrote, directed, and produced his own films. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor (an Oscar!) for his role in the 1961 American movie Judgment at Nuremberg. This was only his second acting job in Hollywood.

Maximilian grew up in a family deeply involved in arts and literature. When he was a child, his family moved to Switzerland in 1938. They left Austria because Nazi Germany took over the country. After World War II ended, Schell became a full-time actor and director. He appeared in many German films, often about the horrors of war, before moving to Hollywood.

Schell spoke both English and German very well. He starred in many movies about the Nazi era. Two of these films earned him Oscar nominations: The Man in the Glass Booth (1975) and Julia (1977). He played many different kinds of people, from leaders like Simón Bolívar to scientists like Albert Einstein. He even won a Golden Globe Award for playing Vladimir Lenin in the TV movie Stalin (1992).

Beyond acting, Schell was a talented pianist and conductor. He performed with famous musicians like Claudio Abbado and Leonard Bernstein. His older sister, Maria Schell, was also a well-known actress. Maximilian made a documentary film about her called My Sister Maria in 2002.

Early Life and Education

Maximilian Schell was born in Vienna, Austria. His mother, Margarethe, was an actress who ran an acting school. His father, Hermann Ferdinand Schell, was a Swiss poet, writer, and pharmacist. His family was Roman Catholic.

Maximilian's father wasn't sure about him becoming an actor. He thought it might not lead to "real happiness."

In 1938, the Schell family left Vienna to escape Hitler and the Nazis. They moved to Zurich, Switzerland, after Austria was taken over by Nazi Germany.

In Zurich, Schell grew up reading classic books. When he was ten, he wrote his first play. He remembered that acting felt normal because he was always around theater. At first, he wanted to be a painter, musician, or playwright, like his father.

Later, Schell studied at the University of Zurich for a year. He also played soccer and was on the rowing team. He worked as a part-time journalist to earn money. After World War II, he moved to Germany and studied philosophy and art history at the University of Munich.

Schell then returned to Zurich and served in the Swiss Army for a year. He continued his studies in London, Zurich, and Basel. He began his acting career at the Basel Theatre. His older sister, Maria Schell, and his other siblings, Carl and Immaculata, were also actors.

Acting Career Highlights

Maximilian Schell's first movie was the German anti-war film Kinder, Mütter und ein General (Children, Mothers, and a General) in 1955. This movie was about mothers who faced a German general. They learned their sons, some as young as 15, were being sent to fight in a losing war. Schell played an officer who left the army. This kind of role, showing his sensitive side, became common for him.

After seven more films in Europe, Schell came to the U.S. He acted in a Broadway play called "Interlock" in 1958. He made his Hollywood debut in the World War II movie, The Young Lions (1958). He played a German officer in another anti-war story, alongside stars like Marlon Brando.

In 1960, Schell went back to Germany to play the main role in William Shakespeare's Hamlet for German TV. He played Hamlet two more times on stage. Many people consider him one of the greatest Hamlets ever. Schell said that playing Hamlet for the first time felt like "falling in love with a woman." He realized then how much he loved acting.

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

In Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

In 1959, Schell played a defense lawyer in a live TV show called Judgment at Nuremberg. This show was a made-up story based on the real Nuremberg War Trials. His performance was so good that he was chosen to play the same part in the 1961 movie version. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for this role. He was the first German-speaking actor to win an Oscar since World War II.

Schell played his role very well. He tried to defend his clients, who were Nazi judges. He argued that all Germans shared the blame for what happened. To prepare, Schell read all forty volumes of the real Nuremberg trials records.

The movie had many famous actors, including Spencer Tracy and Burt Lancaster. They worked for less money because they wanted to be part of this important film. Judgment at Nuremberg was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won two. In 2011, Schell attended a special event celebrating the film's 50th anniversary and his Oscar win.

Making His Own Films

Starting in 1968, Maximilian Schell began to write, produce, direct, and act in his own movies. One of these was The Castle (1968). It was a German film about a man stuck in a confusing system of rules. Soon after, he made Erste Liebe (First Love) (1970), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Schell's next film, The Pedestrian (1974), was about a German businessman who was troubled by his past during the Nazi era. This movie explored feelings of guilt and responsibility. It was also nominated for an Oscar and was very successful in Germany.

He also produced, directed, and acted in End of the Game (1975), a German crime thriller. A few years later, he helped write and directed the Austrian film Tales from the Vienna Woods (1979).

Roles About World War II

Drawing of Schell after he won an Oscar for Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Artist: Nicholas Volpe

As one of the few German-speaking actors in English films, Schell often starred in movies about Nazi Germany. These included Counterpoint (1968), The Odessa File (1974), and Julia (1977). For Julia, Schell was nominated for another Oscar for his role as someone who fought against the Nazis.

Schell also played Jewish characters in several films. He was Otto Frank, Anne Frank's father, in The Diary of Anne Frank (1980). He played a modern Zionist father in The Chosen (1981). In 1996, he played a person who survived Auschwitz in the German film Through Roses. In Left Luggage (1998), he played the father of a Jewish family.

In The Man in the Glass Booth (1975), Schell played a character with two identities: a Nazi officer and a Jewish person who survived the Holocaust. This role was very complex. Schell's acting in this film was highly praised. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and a Golden Globe Award for this performance.

Playing Many Different Characters

Schell in 2006

To avoid playing the same type of character, Schell took on many different roles throughout his career. He played a museum thief in Topkapi (1964). He was a Venezuelan leader in Simón Bolívar (1969). He played a ship captain in Krakatoa, East of Java (1969). In the science fiction film The Black Hole (1979), he was a scientist and spaceship commander.

He played the Russian emperor in the TV series Peter the Great (1986), which won an Emmy Award. He had a funny role with Marlon Brando in The Freshman (1990). He played Vladimir Lenin in the TV series Stalin (1992), winning a Golden Globe Award. He was also the Pharaoh in Abraham (1994), and Tea Leoni's father in the science fiction movie Deep Impact (1998).

From the 1990s, Schell appeared in many German TV films. In 2007, he played Albert Einstein in the German TV series Giganten (Giants). This show featured the lives of important people in German history.

Documentary Films

Schell also wrote, produced, and directed films. One of his documentaries was Marlene (1984), about the famous actress Marlene Dietrich. It was nominated for an Oscar. Dietrich, who was 83 at the time, agreed to be interviewed but did not want to be filmed. Schell cleverly showed only her silhouettes and old film clips during their interview.

In 2002, Schell produced My Sister Maria, a personal documentary about his sister, actress Maria Schell. The film showed her life, career, and how she became ill. It was made three years before her death. In 2002, both Maximilian and Maria received Bambi Awards for their achievements and for the film.

Personal Life and Hobbies

Leonard Bernstein and Schell during a TV series in 1983

Maximilian Schell was a very good pianist for most of his life. He enjoyed playing for hours to relax and renew himself. Conductor Leonard Bernstein said Schell was a "remarkably good pianist." In 1982, Schell read from Beethoven's letters on a TV program before Bernstein conducted Beethoven symphonies.

In 1983, Schell and Bernstein co-hosted an 11-part TV series called Bernstein/Beethoven. It featured live symphonies and discussions about Beethoven's music.

Schell also worked with other famous conductors like Claudio Abbado. He directed live operas, including Richard Wagner's Lohengrin. He was a guest professor at the University of Southern California.

Death

Maximilian Schell passed away on February 1, 2014, in Innsbruck, Austria. He was 83 years old. He had been receiving treatment for pneumonia. His funeral was attended by many friends and colleagues. He is buried in Preitenegg/Carinthia, Austria, where his family home was located.

Filmography

Other Awards and Nominations

• 1961: Academy Award (Best Actor), Judgment at Nuremberg
• 1965: Ondas Award (Best Actor)
• 1979: Golden Hugo Award for Tales from the Vienna Woods
• 1980: German Film Award in Silver (program-filling feature film) for Tales from the Vienna Woods
• 1984: German Film Award, Film Award for the role Morning in Alabama
• 1985: Golden Globe nomination (documentary) for Marlene
• 1985: Merit Cross 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany (Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse)
• 1985: Nominated for Academy Award for Documentary Feature for Marlene
• 1990: Honorary Award of the German Film Award
• 1992: Emmy Award nomination (Best Actor) in the TV film Miss Rose White
• 1999: Method Fest for Lifetime Achievement
• 1999: Platinum Romy for Lifetime Achievement
• 2000: Satellite Award, Mary Pickford Award for Lifetime Achievement
• 2002: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
• 2002: Bambi Award
• 2006: Honorary Award of the Bavarian Film Awards for artistic mastery and humanism
• 2008: Diva Award for Lifetime Achievement
• 2009: Premio Roma
• 2009: Bambi Award for Lifetime Achievement
• 2011: Honorary Award of the Bernhard Wicki Film Award – The Bridge

See also

In Spanish: Maximilian Schell para niños