Adolphson grew up in Norrköping, where his father was smith. To his father's disapproval, he began acting in small parts in the local theaters, particularly Arbis, the worker's theater. He started an education to become an engineer in Västerås, but the theater was the only thing he was interested in and eventually left school. In 1913 he joined a traveling theater company and traveled all around Sweden. He debuted in Stockholm in 1918 and during the the 1920s he played with the big names in the Swedish theatre: Harriet Bosse (whom he later married), Ernst Rolf, Katie Rolfsen, Tollie Zellman, Erik 'Bullen' Berglund and Gösta Ekman among others. In 1923 he got his first major role in a movie, Friaren från landsvägen (1923).In 1929 he directed The Dream Waltz (1929), one of the first Swedish sound pictures. This led to an offer from Paramount to direct movies in Paris, France which he accepted. During the 1930s and 1940s he worked very hard with movies and theater, not only because he loved his work, but also to support an increasing number of ex-wives and children. He directed Ingrid Bergman in her first movie, The Count of the Old Town (1935). Other memorable appearances are Kungliga patrasket (1945), När kärleken kom till byn (1950), One Summer of Happiness (1951), Vägen till Klockrike (1953) and The People of Hemso (1955). He ended his career with a marvelous performance in Markurells i Wadköping (1968). He was struck by blindness the last years of his life and had to quit acting.