He is internationally most famous for his part in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal, but in Sweden he was much loved and participated in over 50 films on cinema and TV.

[3] However, the four-year enlistment period had to be prematurely terminated on 16 March 1928, likely due to a heart condition, which had shortly before resulted in 30 days of treatment at the Navy Hospital.

[5] Initially he had his sights set on becoming a dramatic actor,[6] but realised that he was better suited for comedy, revue, operetta and musical, especially as he also was a good dancer and singer, and decided to develop his comic streak.

During his four years at the Hippodrome Theatre, he appeared in a wide range of revues and operettas, including The Green Pastures, Mutt and Jeff, and The Flower of Hawaii.

[12] With Annalisa Ericson as his partner, he made comic dance films such as Don't give up and Stackars lilla Sven.

[13] Another figure associated with Poppe is Sten Stensson Stéen [sv], the Scanian student who knew all the law by heart.

[de], The Chaste Libertine and Meine Schwester und ich, he made the open-air theatre a national phenomenon.

In addition to his success at Fredriksdalsteatern, Poppe made guest appearances at Lisebergsteatern in Gothenburg, Maximteatern in Stockholm, and the city theatres in Helsingborg and Malmö.

Just in time for his 80th birthday in 1988, he was persuaded by TV producer Bengt Roslund [sv] to appear in an interview series called Poppe i närbild ('Poppe close-up').

Many admired and marvelled at Poppe's vitality and mobility; at the age of 80 he could still perform small dance numbers on stage.

[14] Poppe's international stardom was proven as early as 1959, when the Royal National Theatre in London organised the 100 Clowns film comedy festival.

It featured such greats as Harry Langdon, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, Bob Hope, Peter Sellers, Danny Kaye and others.

Among them was Nils Poppe, who was introduced as follows: "Sweden's greatest clown and comedian of the classic mould, which has affinities both with Chaplin and with Kaye".