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" Nobody told me there was any idea for a sequel to 'The Exorcist.' But my agent called me to tell me they were going to do it, and there was a part for me. I said, 'But I died in the first film.' 'Well,' he told me, 'this is from the early days of Father Merrin's life.' I told him I just didn't want to do it again. "

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" I actually know the moment I became known. It was at the Cannes Film Festival, when they showed 'The Virgin Spring.' I walked into that theater as one person, and I walked out as another. "

Max von Sydow

Know

Moment

Out

" New York is a fascinating city. I think it's a very inspiring city, but it's overpowering when you get older. It tires me now. But it's wonderful for young people - very inspiring and full of surprises and full of ideas. "

" A vacation spot out of season always has a very special magic. "

" When I know what the character I'm supposed to play wants in general terms, and when I know what did the other characters want to do, that's when all these wills collide and the emotions show up. "

" I've never been in a barroom brawl in my life. I just don't do such things. "

" Producers are not gamblers. They want a good return on their investment. "

" I'm an actor; I'm not a director. "

Max von Sydow

Actor

Director

" I just feel I shouldn't work too much, because there are so many other things to do. "

" Most screenplays I receive are boring, and some are straight-out bad. "

" Playing the role of Christ was like being in a prison. It was the hardest part I've ever had to play in my life. I couldn't smoke or drink in public. I couldn't. "

" I owe Mr. Bergman so much. "

Max von Sydow

Owe

Bergman

" Human beings are human beings whether they speak or not. "

" There are many documentary filmmakers who have a tough time because they don't really get what they need to do what they want. There are so many people with good visions that should be encouraged and helped. And they will deliver, I'm sure. "

" I was in such a hurry to be an actor. Now I'm sometimes mad at myself that I didn't stop and study for a couple of years. "

" In a theater, the part is mine and I can control it as I want to. In the movies, I don't have direct contact, and I am fighting technical machinery. "

" Only very rarely are foreigners or first-generation immigrants allowed to be nice people in American films. Those with an accent are bad guys. "

" The most difficult part of playing Christ was that I had to keep up the image around the clock. As soon as the picture finished, I returned home to Sweden and tried to find my old self. It took six months to get back to normal. "

" I would love to do parts I have never done before, but unfortunately, if you have had success in a particular type of character, the casting agents think, 'Oh! We'll have something exactly like that.' It's very boring. "

" I admired Stephen Daldry very much; I think he's a brilliant director, and also, I feel close to him because he has a lot of theater behind him. He's also a man of great imagination and a lovely sense of humor. "

" The studio rented a house for my wife in Los Angeles under a phony name to keep reporters away. Whenever I wanted to visit her and my children, I would have to sneak in the back door after dark. "

" It often disturbs me, when I see a film set in a historical time, that the people are too modern. "

Max von Sydow

People

Time

" When I was brought up in Sweden, there was a great opportunity for young people to learn how to act in our municipal theaters with their small companies. You would be under contract for eight months and have the summer free to take other opportunities. "

" What is important, I think, is to reach as many people as you can and do it as well as you can. Reach them and inspire them or amuse them, or maybe in some odd moments help them to discover something they hadn't thought of before. "

" All of us, we deserve to survive. "

Max von Sydow

Deserve

Survive

" I think English is a fantastic, rich and musical language, but of course your mother tongue is the most important for an actor. "

" Ingmar Bergman had a great sense of humor, and he had a very special, characteristic laugh that you always recognized - if he went to watch a theater show, 'Ah! He is here tonight.' "

" The more I had to act like a saint, the more I felt like being a sinner. "

" Bergman was courageous in choosing people to do things that they themselves might not expect to play. "

" I understand German; I can read German. "

" During my military service, I performed a sketch in which I played a flea called Max. So when critics kept misspelling my name, I decided to change it and thought, 'Ah! Max!' "