He was an assistant director to Per-Axel Branner, Hasse Ekman, Stig Olin, Bengt Ekerot and Ingmar Bergman from 1956 to 1961.
While Ekman officially retired from stage and film work in 2003, he returned in 2005 to play leading parts in his wife's two films, Asta Nilssons sällskap and Pingvinresan.