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