Breistrand made his debut in 1941 at the Trøndelag Theater as Amund in Til Sæters by Claus Pavels Riis.
[1] Among other roles, he played Elias in Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson's Over ævne I, Gustav in Helge Krog's Konkylien, Lebcau in Arthur Miller's Incident at Vichy (Norwegian title: Det hendte i Vichy), various roles in Shakespeare plays (Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Banquo in Macbeth, and Horatio in Hamlet), and the title role in Ambassador (Norwegian title: Ambassadøren) by Sławomir Mrożek.
He appeared in a large number of Norwegian films, debuting in Ni liv in 1957.
He also played leading roles in the television drama De hvite bussene (1989), Anton (1973), and Åpenbaringen (1977).
[1] Breistrand received the Amanda Award for best actor in 1992 for the role of Thomas F in the television drama Th.