Wissenswertes

Godfather of actress Angelina Jolie, whose father, Jon Voight, he appeared with in Die Akte Odessa (1974).

In 1990, he declined an Honorary German Film Award, feeling he was too young to receive an award for lifetime achievement.

He was the first actor to win an Oscar (for Urteil von Nürnberg (1961)) for a role he originally performed on television (in a 1959 episode of Playhouse 90 (1956)). The only other actor to accomplish that feat was Cliff Robertson, who won an Oscar for Charly (1968) after first playing the role in "The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon" on The United States Steel Hour (1953).

A part-time director, his compelling documentary Marlene (1984) was nominated for an Oscar in 1985 and his last film Meine Schwester Maria (2002) chronicled the life, career and eventual diminished capacity of his noted actress sister Maria Schell.

He appeared in four films with Vanessa Redgrave: Julia (1977), Die junge Katharina (1991), Little Odessa - Eiskalt wie der Tod (1994) and Deep Impact (1998).

He only appeared in one film with his sister, Maria, Die Akte Odessa (1974).

His interest in acting began at early age. When age 11, he appeared in a professional production of "William Tell" and the same year wrote a play which was produced by his school.

At the Academy Awards presentation for 1961 (1962), Joan Crawford presented him his "Best Actor" Oscar. The following year, he presented the "Best Actress" Oscar to Crawford, who was accepting for absent winner Anne Bancroft.

He dubbed himself in the English version of Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark (1960).

Just like his sister Maria Schell, he also died from complications from pneumonia.

In later life, he began directing operatic productions. His first foray in the musical medium was a Swiss production of Verdi's "La Traviata". This passion was triggered when he was performing in the play "Jedermann" (or "Everyman") in Salzburg, Austria from 1978-1982, and he came into contact with several musical conductors including Leonard Bernstein, James Levine and Claudio Abbado.

Received the "Actor of the Millennium" award at The Baltic Pearl Film Festival in Latvia. He collapsed at the festival and was been diagnosed with acute pancreatitis which is related to his diabetes. (August 2000)

His father was a Swiss poet and his mother an Austrian actress.

Brother of Maria Schell, Carl Schell and Immy Schell.

He directed his mother Margarete Schell Noé in two films: Der Fußgänger (1973) and Der Richter und sein Henker (1975).

He directed 2 films that were Oscar nominated for Foreign Language Film: First Love (1970) and Der Fußgänger (1973).

He appeared in four films with Liv Ullmann: Papst Johanna (1972), Die Brücke von Arnheim (1977), Spiel mit der Liebe (1979) and Der Rosengarten (1989).

Father of Nastassja Schell (born in 1989).

Son of actress Margarete Schell Noé.

Uncle of Oliver Schell and Marie Theres Relin.

Had appeared in the Old Vic's early 2006 production of the Arthur Miller play "Resurrection Blues", which was directed by Robert Altman in his London theatrical debut, The play was widely panned by critics, partly due to the divergent acting styles of the eclectic cast assembled by Altman, which included the urbane Englishman James Fox playing the intellectual cousin of Schell's Germanic dictator.

He was a stage producer in Germany.

He left Vienna just before Adolf Hitler invaded.

He was brought up in Switzerland.

Was among the actors in the running for Dr. Hans Fallada in the science fiction horror film Lifeforce - Die tödliche Bedrohung (1985). Frank Finlay was cast instead.

He's a pianist and playwright as well as being an actor.

All three of his Oscar nominated roles, in Urteil von Nürnberg (1961), The Man in the Glass Booth (1975), and Julia (1977), are in films in which WWII and the Holocaust are major storyline components, although only the latter is primarily set during the war's actual years.