Lena Olin made her film debut in the 1976 Swedish psychological drama ‘Face to Face’ directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film received a favorable response from critics and has a 76% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Following her debut, she went on to star in films like ‘Friaren som inte ville gifta sig’ (1977), ‘The Adventures of Picasso’ (1978), ‘Love’ (1980), ‘Fanny and Alexander’ (1982), ‘After the Rehearsal’ (1983), ‘Wallenberg: A Hero's Story’ (1985), ‘Flight North’ (1986), and ‘Komedianter’ (1987). In 1988, she starred as ‘Sabina’ in the American romantic drama film ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ directed by Philip Kaufman. The film earned praise from critics and holds an 85% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Olin was also nominated for the ‘Golden Globe Award’ and ‘National Society of Film Critics Award’ for Best Supporting Actress. Olin received an ‘Academy Award’ nomination for her performance as ‘Masha’ in the 1989 Paul Mazursky-directed film, ‘Enemies, A Love Story.’ The film received a positive response from critics. She next starred in films like ‘Havana’ (1990), ‘Romeo Is Bleeding’ (1993), ‘Mr. Jones’ (1993), ‘The Night and the Moment’ (1995), ‘Night Falls on Manhattan’ (1996), ‘Polish Wedding’ (1998), ‘Mystery Men’ (1999), and ‘The Ninth Gate’ (1999).
Olin portrayed ‘Josephine Muscat’ in the 2000 film ‘Chocolat’ directed by Lasse Hallström. The film opened to a mixed reception but was a commercial success, grossing over $152.7 million on a budget of $25 million. Olin also received the BAFTA Award, ‘European Film Award,’ and ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ nominations for her performance in the film. In 2002, she joined the cast of the American action thriller and science fiction television series ‘Alias’ created by J. J. Abrams. She played the role of ‘Irina Derevko’ in the series which earned her ‘Primetime Emmy Award’ and ‘Satellite Award’ nominations. The series ran for 5 seasons and aired its final episode in 2006. She next starred in films like ‘The United States of Leland’ (2003), ‘Hollywood Homicide’ (2003), ‘Casanova’ (2005), ‘Bang Bang Orangutang’ (2005), ‘Awake’ (2007), ‘The Reader’ (2008), ‘Remember Me’ (2010), ‘The Hypnotist’ (2012), ‘The Devil You Know’ (2013), ‘Maya Dardel’ (2017), and ‘The Artist's Wife’ (2019). She was last seen in the 2020 American drama film ‘Adam’ directed by Michael Uppendahl.