Maximilian Schell
“A cerebral European actor whose courtroom eloquence earned Hollywood's highest honor.”
In 1961, Schell reprised his role as defense attorney Hans Rolfe in the film of Judgment at Nuremberg, having originated the part on a 1959 Playhouse 90 broadcast. The performance won him the Academy Award for Best Actor and made the Austrian-born actor an international star almost overnight.
Viennese Roots
Born in Vienna in 1930 to a poet father and actress mother, Schell grew up immersed in the arts. When Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938, his family fled to Zurich, where he was raised and educated.
Nuremberg and Stardom
After a Hollywood debut in The Young Lions, Schell created the role of attorney Hans Rolfe on television before re-creating it in the 1961 film Judgment at Nuremberg. His Best Actor Oscar made him one of the few German-speaking actors to win Hollywood's top prize.
Beyond the Screen
A polymath, Schell directed films and operas, played classical piano at a professional level, and earned further Oscar nominations for acting and documentary work. He remained active in European and American cinema until his death in 2014.
Career Timeline
- 1930Born in Vienna, Austria, into an artistic family
- 1938Family flees Nazi-annexed Austria for Switzerland
- 1958Hollywood debut in The Young Lions
- 1959Plays Hans Rolfe on TV's Playhouse 90
- 1961Stars in film Judgment at Nuremberg
- 1962Wins Best Actor Oscar from Joan Crawford
- 1975Oscar-nominated for The Man in the Glass Booth
- 1977Oscar-nominated for Julia; appears in A Bridge Too Far
- 1984Directs acclaimed documentary Marlene
- 2002Directs personal documentary My Sister Maria
- 2014Dies in Innsbruck, Austria, aged 83
Biggest Hits
- Schell was an accomplished pianist who performed and collaborated with conductors Leonard Bernstein and Claudio Abbado.
- Beyond acting he directed films, operas, and stage plays, earning an Oscar nomination for his 1984 documentary Marlene about Marlene Dietrich.
The Moment You Remember
His impassioned defense summation in Judgment at Nuremberg, arguing a nation's guilt with relentless force, gave the film its moral center and carried him to a Best Actor Oscar that confirmed his arrival.
Portrait: Unknown photographer · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons