At an age when many actors would have retired, Max Von Sydow is having an "extremely loud" winter.
He received an Oscar nomination for the new film "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" about a young boy's (Thomas Horn) quest to make sense of the father (Tom Hanks) he lost during 9-11.
Von Sydow, 80, plays a mysterious man who just shows up suddenly after the September 11 tragedy and starts to live across the road with the grandmother of the boy who lost almost everything.
The boy and his mother (Sandra Bullock) dub the old man The Renter.
Is The Renter the young man's grandfather? That fact unravels while the older man, who is mute and writes his thoughts on a pad of paper, and the boy criss-cross the city trying to solve a mystery.
"It was just a wonderful, wonderful story," says Von Sydow of why he signed on for a role that earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
"The key for me is that this is a very unusual character and it's something I had never done before, which is important when you've been in the business for a long time."
"This was an amazing story that I read at my home with my wife. We were so moved because it was a tale about 9-11 and not about 9-11," he says. "There is so much more to this film, which is really about love, hope and understanding."
A MOVIE WHERE HE DOESN'T SPEAK A WORD
In "Extremely Loud," Von Sydow's character doesn't speak a word, scribbling his thoughts on a notepad he keeps attached to his hand.
"Playing a character that doesn't speak is not in any way different from playing one that does speak," Von Sydow reasons. "The only difference is you communicate differently. Apart from that, he's a total human being with problems because all of us have problems.
"This man just talks through his writing," he says.
"The way I approached it is he would be the same man if he spoke. His feelings would have been the same. His actions would have been the same," he says. "I wouldn't behave any differently."
Von Sydow has had an amazing career. He grew up in a middle class family in Sweden and started a theater club in high school. He studied at the Royal Dramatic Theatre and began his career on stage in Sweden.
His films include "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965), "Hawaii" (1966), "Flash Gordon" (1980), "Never Say Never Again" (1983), "Dune" (1984), "Needful Things" (1993), "Minority Report" (2002), "Shutter Island" (2010) and "Robin Hood" (2010).
He played Father Merrin in "The Exorcist" (1973) and the 1977 sequel.
Ask him his favorite role and he frets, 'It's such a good question, but a difficult one to answer.
"Honestly, I thought my film 'Pelle the Conqueror' was one of the most wonderful," he says. "I particularly enjoyed the character I played who was this poor father. He was able to appear in so many different situations that it was a true opportunity to tell a full story. It was also one of my richest characters."
Von Sydow says when he played Jesus in "The Greatest Story Ever Told" that people treated him differently.
"We filmed in Utah and people wanted me to act like Jesus all of the time," he recalls. "My close friends treated me with this reverence."
Ask him about "The Exorcist," and he says, "It was a good experience, but another difficult part. I think it's still a very scary film that will still give you a sleepless night or two today."
OSCAR AND BEYOND
Von Sydow is beyond thrilled about his Oscar nomination and the nod for Best Picture for the film.
"Oh, an Oscar nomination, well…." he says with a laugh. "It's such an honor. It pleases me to see the film nominated."
Von Sydow spends his time these days in France. He's married to Catherine Bretel and is the father of four.
"Work, work, work," he advises of how to stay young.
He also says that you have to change with age. "I do live in France and find it lovely to visit New York City. But I find big cities overpowering now. Paris can even be overpowering. Too much traffic and noise. I like to live a quiet life now."
Will he ever retire?
"I often retire…and then I come back," he says with a laugh.
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