Topic: Maximilian Schell

Maximilian Schell (born December 8, 1930) is a Swiss-Austrian actor. He is also a writer, director and producer of several films.

Schell was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of Margarethe (née Noe von Nordberg), an actress, and Hermann Ferdinand Schell, a poet, writer, and owner of a pharmacy. Schell's late elder sister, Maria Schell, was also an actress; as are their two other siblings, Carl and Immy (Immaculata) Schell, and their cousin, Catherine Schell. The Schell family moved to Zurich, Switzerland in 1938, where young Maximilian later served in the Swiss Army, achieving the rank of corporal. He began acting at the Basel Theater.

Schell made his Hollywood debut in 1958 in the World War II film The Young Lions. In 1959, he appeared as Hans Rolfe, the defense attorney, in a live Playhouse 90 television production of Judgment at Nuremberg. In 1961, he reprised the role on film, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 1974's The Pedestrian, for which Schell wrote, produced, directed, and starred, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.