In 1993, at the age of 19, he was cast as Robert "Raspen" Thorstensson in the Swedish TV soap opera Rederiet.
In 1996, he played Tobias in the Swedish sitcom En fyra för tre, with Björn Gustafson and Birgitta Andersson.
In 2007 he performed at the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, DC, in a one-man play A Swedish Tiger at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
In 2010 Gillinger was cast opposite Tate Donovan in the movie Below the Beltway directed by Dave Fraunces.
He also returned to Sweden to appear as Erik, the male lead in the short Att bli med barn, which premiered at the Gothenburg Film Festival.