Erland Josephson appeared in 14 Bergman films as an actor in a span of almost 60 years (1946-2004): It Rains on Our Love (1946) ("It Rains on Our Love" (1946)), To Joy (1950) ("To Joy" (1950)), The Magician (1958) ("The Magician" (1959)), Brink of Life (1958) ("Brink of Life" (1959)), Hour of the Wolf (1968) ("Hour of the Wolf" (1968)), The Passion of Anna (1969) ("The Passion of Anna" (1970)), Cries and Whispers (1972) ("Cries and Whispers" (1972)), Scenes from a Marriage (1973) ("Scenes from a Marriage" (1974)), The Magic Flute (1975) (TV) ("The Magic Flute" (1975)), Face to Face (1976) ("Face to Face (1976)),
10 of his films are listed in the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider). He is the third best represented director (behind Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks) and has the greatest number of writing credits on that list of any screenwriter. On the list are the films Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Winter Light (1963), Persona (1966), Hour of the Wolf (1968), Shame (1968), Cries and Whispers (1972) and Fanny and Alexander (1982).
After their daughter Maria had been born out of wedlock in 1959, he finally married Ingrid Bergman (Ingrid von Rosen) in 1971. This was his only marriage which didn't end in divorce.
Among Woody Allen's biggest idols.
Among his fellow directors, he listed the three most significant to him as Federico Fellini, Victor Sjöström and Akira Kurosawa.
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945- 1985". Pages 103-115. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
Born to Erik Bergman, a Lutheran minister who later became the chaplain to the King of Sweden, and his wife Karen Åkerblom.
Considered Persona (1966) and Cries and Whispers (1972) his best movies.
Directed 2 actresses to Oscar nominations: Liv Ullmann (Best Actress, Face to Face (1976)) and Ingrid Bergman (Best Actress, Autumn Sonata (1978)).
Father of nine children. They include director Daniel Bergman, (with Käbi Laretei), actress Anna Bergman, actor Mats Bergman, director Eva Bergman, director Jan Bergman, (with Ellen Bergman), actress Lena Bergman, (with Else Fisher), airline captain Ingmar Bergman Jr. (born 1951) (with Gun Hagberg), writer Linn Ullmann, (with Liv Ullmann), and writer Maria won Rosen (with Ingrid Bergman).
Father-in-law of Henning Mankell.
Fluently spoke Swedish, French and English.
For many years, he and actor Erland Josephson have had an hour-long telephone conversation once a week, on Saturdays.
Had a dispute with the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theatre about his production of the play "Misantropen". Directed it for Swedish television instead. Ironically, the chief of Swedish Television's 'Dramatic Department' has become chief of the Royal Dramatic Theatre.
Has a daughter, Linn Ullmann, with actress Liv Ullmann. Linn, who played a child in several of her father's movies, became a literary critic, then novelist. Her debut novel, in 1999, was "Före du sover" (Before you fall asleep).
He and Bibi Andersson made 13 movies together: The Magician (1958), The Touch (1971), The Devil's Eye (1960), All These Women (1964), Brink of Life (1958), Mr. Sleeman Is Coming (1957) (TV) (not released), The Passion of Anna (1969), Persona (1966), Scenes from a Marriage (1973), Rabies (1958) (TV), The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957) and Smiles of a Summer Night (1955).
He and Liv Ullmann made 10 movies together: Face to Face (1976), Autumn Sonata (1978), The Passion of Anna (1969), Persona (1966), Saraband (2003) (TV), Scenes from a Marriage (1973), The Serpent's Egg (1977), Shame (1968), Hour of the Wolf (1968) and Cries and Whispers (1972).
He and Max von Sydow made 13 movies together: The Magician (1958), The Touch (1971), Mr. Sleeman Is Coming (1957) (TV) (not released), The Virgin Spring (1960), Winter Light (1963), Brink of Life (1958), The Passion of Anna (1969), Rabies (1958) (TV), The Seventh Seal (1957), Shame (1968), Wild Strawberries (1957), Through a Glass Darkly (1961) and Hour of the Wolf (1968).
He and Ingrid Thulin made 10 movies together: A Dream Play (1963) (TV), The Magician (1958), After the Rehearsal (1984) (TV), Winter Light (1963), Brink of Life (1958), The Rite (1969) (TV), Wild Strawberries (1957), The Silence (1963), Hour of the Wolf (1968) and Cries and Whispers (1972).
He retired from filmmaking in 1984, and then in 2003, at the age of 85, he retired from directing plays.