Although trained for the stage in his native Sweden, Alf Kjellin appeared in only a few stage productions before entering films. His work in Torment (1944) resulted in his being noticed by Hollywood, and he made his American film debut in 1949 under the name Christopher Kent. He soon went back to using his real name, and though he made several more Hollywood films, he worked mainly out of Sweden, both as an actor and director. In the early 1960s he finally settled in Hollywood. Although he acted in and directed a few feature films, the main body of his work consisted of directing made-for-TV movies (one of his better ones being the clever psychological thriller The Deadly Dream (1971)) and appearing as a guest star--often as a villain--in TV series.