From www.bfi.org.uk:
You can read the full intro and the whole article on the original site, It's worth a read.
"Despite appearing in 120 films, Max von Sydow will forever be associated with his 11 collaborations with Ingmar Bergman between 1957-71.
It would have been 13, only Bergman refused to cast von Sydow as a policeman in Prison (1949), while the actor priced himself out of the bishop's role in Fanny and Alexander (1982). They did reunite on the Bergman-scripted The Best Intentions (1991) and Private Confessions (1996). But, by then, the 6ft 4in von Sydow (who took the name Max from the star of a flea circus) had become an imposing presence in a dazzlingly diverse range of pictures by some of the biggest names in the business. Whether playing Nazis, arch-villains, tormented artists, errant husbands, stern patriarchs, demanding mentors or genial grandfathers, von Sydow brings gravitas and class to every role."6
