Maximilian Schell (born December 8, 1930) is an Austrian actor. His elder sister is actress Maria Schell.

Born in Vienna and raised in Zurich, Switzerland, he made his Hollywood debut in 1958 in the World War II film The Young Lions . In 1961, he took the role of the defense attorney in Judgment at Nuremberg, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, a role he had initiated in a live television performance. 1974's The Pedestrian , which Schell wrote, produced, directed, and starred in, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.

Schell has refused to be typecast. Although he was top billed in a number of Nazi-era themed films as The Man in the Glass Booth, A Bridge Too Far, Cross of Iron, Julia and Judgment at Nuremburg, he has also appeared in Topkapi, The Black Hole, The Freshman, Stalin and Candles in the Dark .

Schell has also served as a writer, producer and director for a variety of films.

In 2000, he collapsed, and was diagnosed with pancreatitis related to his diabetes. At the time he was starring on Broadway in the premiere of the stage version of Judgment at Nuremberg, changing roles from the defense lawyer to the lead judge on trial for crimes against humanity.

Since the 1990s Schell has appeared in many German language made-for-TV films, for example in Alles Glück dieser Erde (2003, opposite Uschi Glas) and in the mini-series The Return of the Dancing Master (2004, based on Henning Mankell's novel).

Academy Awards and nominations

• 1978 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Julia
• 1976 - Nominated Best Actor in a Leading Role - The Man in the Glass Booth
• 1961 - Won Best Actor in a Leading Role - Judgment at Nuremberg