Gunnar Bjornstrand

Gunnar Bjornstrand.

Gunnar Björnstrand ( pronunciation : [ ˌgɵnːaɹ ˈbʝœːɳʂtɹand ], born November 13, 1909 in Stockholm ; † May 26, 1986 there ; born Knut Gunnar Johanson ) was a Swedish actor . He became internationally known for his roles in the films Ingmar Bergmans .

Life

Björnstrand was born as the son of the Swedish actor Oscar Johanson (1865-1943) and his wife Ella Mauléon under the name Knut Gunnar Johanson. His wish to become an actor like his father was rejected by his parents, which is why he initially worked in other professions. For his first role at "Lilla Teatern" in Stockholm he took the stage name Björnstrand. Soon he received a first offer from Gösta Ekman . In autumn 1933 he came to the drama school of the Royal Dramatic Theater (Dramaten), where he was trained at the side of Ingrid Bergman and Signe Hasso . Here he also met his wife Lillie Björnstrand , with whom he was married from 1935 until his death and had three daughters. After both graduated from drama school, they found employment at the Swedish Theater in Vaasa, Finland . After two years they returned to Sweden, where there was a theatrical crisis. In addition to theater appearances, Björnstrand worked in film and radio.

He had his first meeting with Ingmar Bergman in 1941 when he appeared in Bergman's production of August Strindberg's Ghost Sonata in the Stockholm community center (“Medborgarhuset”). His breakthrough came in 1943 in the film Natt i hamn by Hampe Faustman . Björnstrand has played both comic and dramatic roles in theater and film. Finally he received a contract with the film production company Svensk Filmindustri , which secured him financially, but committed to the comedy subject. His first roles in Bergman's films were mostly comedic or ironic, until he played dramatic roles again with The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries (both 1957). In some films, Björnstrand's character was Bergman's alter ego , for example as an unfaithful husband in The Smile of a Midsummer Night or as a son who was shaped and tormented by his apparently emotional father in Wild Strawberries . They probably reached the climax of their collaboration with Licht in the winter of 1963, in which Björnstrand played the main role of a pastor in a crisis of faith. Until the early 1960s he worked frequently for Bergman, after which it was used more irregularly, but also occasionally appeared in later films such as Persona or Schande .

In 1965 his contract with Svensk Filmindustri ended. In parallel to his acting activities, Björnstrand was politically active and repeatedly took part in protests against the Vietnam War. As the number of films on offer diminished, he appeared more frequently in the theater and on television. While making his last film, Bergman's Fanny and Alexander (1982), he was already suffering from symptoms of Alzheimer's disease . In 1986 he died in Stockholm.

Filmography (selection)

• 1931: The wrong millionaire (Mon cœur et ses millions) - Director: André Berthomieu
• 1931: Schiff ahoi (Skepp ohoj!) - Director: Gustaf Edgren
• 1932: Landskamp - Director: Gunnar Skoglund
• 1938: We from the theater (Vi som går scenvägen) - directed by Gideon Wahlberg
• 1939: We Two (Vi två) - Director: Schamyl Bauman
• 1940: Hjältar i gult och blått - Director: Schamyl Bauman
• 1940: Your Melody (Hennes melodi) - Director: Thor Brooks
• 1940: Alle man på post - Director: Anders Henrikson
• 1940: One June Night (Juninatten) - Director: Per Lindberg
• 1941: Snapphanar - Director: Åke Ohberg
• 1941: Spökreportern - Director: Schamyl Bauman
• 1942: En aventyrare - Directed by Gunnar Olsson
• 1942: General von Döbeln Director: Olof Molander
• 1943: Jag dräpte - Director: Olof Molander
• 1943: Natt i hamn - Director: Hampe Faustman
• 1944: Die Hörige (Hets)
• 1944: Nyordning på Sjögårda - Director: Weyler Hildebrand
• 1944: Appassionata - Director: Olof Molander
• 1944: Live Dangerously (Lev farligt) - Director: Lauritz Falk
• 1944: Mitt folk är icke ditt - Director: Weyler Hildebrand
• 1945: I som här inträden - Director: Arne Mattsson
• 1945: Sussie - Director: Arne Mattsson
• 1946: It rains on our love (Det regnar på vår kärlek)
• 1946: Medan porten var stängd - Director: Hasse Ekman
• 1946: Peggy på vift - Director: Arne Mattsson
• 1946: Faule Eier (Rötägg) - Director: Arne Mattsson
• 1946: Kristin commands (Kristin kommenderar) - Director: Gustaf Edgren
• 1947: Krigsmans erinran - Director: Hampe Faustman
• 1947: Bruden kom genom taket - Director: Bengt Palm
• 1947: A swallow doesn't make a summer (Enfluga gör ingen sommar) - Director: Hasse Ekman
• 1947: Här kommer vi - Director: John Zacharias
• 1947: Pappa sökes - Director: Arne Mattsson
• 1947: Two Women (Två kvinnor) - Director: Arnold Sjöstrand
• 1948: Music in the Dark (Musik i mörker)
• 1948: En svensk tiger - Director: Gustaf Edgren
• 1948: Gunner Boom in Distress (Soldat Bom) - Director: Lars-Eric Kjellgren
• 1948: Lilla Märta kommer tillbaka - Director: Hasse Ekman
• 1948: Var sin väg - Director: Hasse Ekman
• 1949: Flickan från tredje raden - Director: Hasse Ekman
• 1949: Skolka skolan - Director: Schamyl Bauman
• 1950: Den vita katten - Director: Hasse Ekman
• 1950: Kvartetten som sprängdes - Director: Gustaf Molander
• 1950: Kyssen på kryssen - Director: Arne Mattsson
• 1950: Min syster och jag - Director: Schamyl Bauman
• 1950: Fästmö uthyres - Director: Gustaf Molander
• 1951: Livat på luckan - Director: Torsten Lundqvist
• 1951: Dårskapens hus - Director: Hasse Ekman
• 1951: Schütze Bumm becomes a customs inspector (Tull-Bom) - Director: Lars-Eric Kjellgren
• 1952: Säg det med blommor - Director: Lars-Eric Kjellgren
• 1952: Oppåt med Gröna Hissen - Director: Börje Larsson
• 1952: Longing of women (Kvinnors väntan)
• 1953: Dansa min docka - Director: Martin Söderhjelm
• 1953: Evening of the jugglers (Gycklarnas afton)
• 1954: Lesson in love (En lektion i kärlek)
• 1954: Flottans glada gossar - Director: Rolf Husberg
• 1955: Women's dreams (Kvinnodröm)
• 1955: The smile of a summer night (Sommarnattens leende)
• 1956: Sjunde himlen - Director: Hasse Ekman
• 1956: Skorpan - Director: Hans Lagerkvist
• 1957: Nattens ljus - Director: Lars-Eric Kjellgren
• 1957: The seventh seal (Det sjunde inseglet)
• 1957: Wild strawberries (Smultronstället)
• 1958: The seducer or the spring experience of a bank director (Fröken April) - Director: Göran Gentele
• 1958: The Face (Ansiktet)
• 1959: Brott i Paradiset - Director: Lars-Eric Kjellgren
• 1959: Det svänger på slottet - Director: Alf Kjellin
• 1959: Mälarpirater - Director: Per G. Holmgren
• 1960: The Devil's Eye (Djävulens öga)
• 1961: Lustgarten (Lustgården) - Director: Alf Kjellin
• 1961: As in a mirror (Såsom i en spegel)
• 1963: Light in winter (Nattvardsgästerna)
• 1964: Loving Couples (Älskande par) - Director: Mai Zetterling
• 1965: The Klänningen dress
• 1966: Here you have your life (Här har du ditt liv) - Director: Jan Troell
• 1966: Persona
• 1966: Dr. Wester's last patient (Träfracken)
• 1966: Syskonbädd 1782 (sibling bed ) (Syskonbädd 1782)
• 1967: Hagbard and Signe (Den røde kappe)
• 1968: Hot Blood in Your Veins (Violenza al sole) - Director: Florestano Vancini
• 1968: Shame (Skammen)
• 1968: The Girls (Flickorna)
• 1968: Even angels sometimes bathe naked (Pappa varför är du arg: du gjorde likadant själv när du var ung) - Director: Arne Stivell
• 1969: The Rite (Rites)
• 1971: Lockfågeln - Director: Torgny Wickman
• 1975: Face to Face (Ansikte mot Ansikte)
• 1978: Autumn Sonata
• 1979: Skeppsredaren (TV series)
• 1979: The love of Charlotte Löwensköld (Charlotte Löwenskold)
• 1982: Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander)

Web links

• Gunnar Bjorn beach in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Gunnar Björnstrand on Bergmanorama.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Gunnar Björnstrand on the Ingmar Bergman Foundation website , accessed on October 15, 2018.