Gunnar Björnstrand made a career portraying morally upright figures plagued by doubt and temptation. A courtly actor who seemed equally at home in comedy and melodrama, he came to the attention of non-Swedish film audiences in the dozen or so films of Ingmar Bergman in which he appeared.

Björnstrand made his first film for Bergman in 1946, It Rains on Our Love, and rose to international prominence in a series of films beginning with Sawdust and Tinsel, and culminating with Winter Light. His role in this last film was a tour de force for Björnstrand who played a man of God who had lost his faith and, although he searched for meaning in the modern world, could provide little guidance for himself or his parishioners. The elegance of Björnstrand's bearing provided a vivid contrast to the inner torment caused by his religious uncertainty. For The Seventh Seal, on the other hand, where he played the cynical Sancho Panza-like companion to Max von Sydow's questing knight, he was cast against type and provided a shrewd foil to his Quixotic master.

Björnstrand continued to play roles in other Swedish productions including Vilgot Sjöman's The Dress and the same director's controversial My Sister, My Love, Jan Troell's first feature, Here Is Your Life, and Mai Zetterling's Loving Couples and The Girls. He also appeared in Bergman's later films such as Shame, Face to Face, and Autumn Sonata.

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