Tovino Thomas
Tovino Thomas is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He made his debut in 2012 with the film Prabhuvinte Makkal. His breakthrough roles were in the films ABCD, 7th Day, Ennu Ninte Moideen. He starred as the titular character in the Netflix superhero film Minnal Murali.
He won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ennu Ninte Moideen. He also won the Kerala Film Critics Association Award and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Malayalam for his performance in Mayanadhi. In 2022, Tovino won the SIIMA Award for Best Actor for Minnal Murali and Kala.
Tovino has co-produced the film Kilometers and Kilometers. On 21 January 2021, he launched his production house, Tovino Thomas Productions. Kala is the first venture by his production house.
Early life and education
Tovino Thomas was born on 21 January 1989 at Irinjalakuda, Thrissur, to Sheela and Adv. E. Thomas of the Ellikkal house as the youngest child. His siblings are Tingston Thomas and Dhanya Thomas. He completed primary schooling from Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, Irinjalakuda and Secondary schooling from St. Mary's Higher Secondary School Irinjalakuda, and graduated with bachelor's degree in electronics and communication engineering from Tamil Nadu College of Engineering, Coimbatore. He was a part of the handball team of Don Bosco High School and also served as the school leader. He later worked in Cognizant Technologies as a software engineer. He was active in sports, fitness, and modeling.Career
Debut and early work (2012-2014)
Tovino Thomas made his acting debut in Prabhuvinte Makkal directed by Sajeev Anthikkad. Subsequently, he worked as an assistant director in Roopesh Peethambaran's Theevram. In ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi he portrayed the role of the antagonist. Tovino played one of the leads in the film Koothara, which also featured Mohanlal. Again, he was cast in an important role in Roopesh Peethambaran's second directorial venture You Too Brutus.He has played roles in the films including 7th Day and ''[Charlie (2015 Malayalam cinema|Malayalam film)|Charlie].''
Breakthrough and recognition (2015-2019)
In 2015, he portrayed the role of Perumparambil Appu in the film Ennu Ninte Moideen which was widely appreciated and received critical acclaim for his performance. He won his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ennu Ninte Moideen.He played the role of Engineer Thejus Varky in Guppy which was well received by audiences upon the DVD and digital release. He won the New Sensational Hero Award at the NAFA 2017 for his performance in the film.
He played the lead role in Oru Mexican Aparatha, Godha, and Mayanadi in 2017. He won the Best Actor – Malayalam and Behindwoods Critics Award for Best Actor for Mayanadi. The film was praised for the way it tackled with sexuality and was included in The Hindu
In 2018, Tovino Thomas was cast in a major role in Maari 2 with Dhanush which was his Tamil debut. His major Malayalam releases for the year includes Theevandi, Ente Ummante Peru, and Oru Kuprasidha Payyan. Tovino had major roles in Lucifer, Uyare and Virus in 2019. His film Uyare was released in South Korea, becoming the first Malayalam film to do so. His other releases in the year were And the Oscar Goes To..., Luca, Kalki, and Edakkad Battalion 06.
Established actor (2020–present)
In 2020, he played the lead role in the crime thriller Forensic with Mamta Mohandas, which received a good response from the audience and was a major box office success.In 2021, his first release was Kala which was his second venture as a producer. The film received critical acclaim for its narrative. Kaanekkaane released in 2021, received a positive response and critical acclaim for its narrative and performance by its cast. He starred as the titular character in Minnal Murali, which is the first Malayalam superhero action film, released by Netflix on 24 December. He received immense praise for his work in the film and the movie was also declared as 'Streaming success'. and surpassed the records of most viewed Malayalam Film on OTT previously held by Drishyam 2.
In 2022, Tovino appeared in Naaradan, Dear Friend, Vaashi, and Thallumaala. The latter film proved to be a commercial success.
In 2023, he starred in Neelavelicham, in which he portrayed the role of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, that film was considered a flop and in 2018, which collected 176 crore and became the 4th Highest grossing Malayalam film ever.
In 2024, he starred in films like Anweshippin Kandethum, Nadikar and A.R.M.. The latter became Tovino's first solo 100 crore grosser.
In 2025, he starred in Identity(2025 film) which under performed significantly at the box office despite a high budget.
Media image
Tovino is considered among the highest-paid actors of Malayalam cinema. He stood at the 21st place on Forbes India's most influential stars on Instagram in South cinema for the year 2021. Tovino was named the Kochi Times Most Desirable Men in 2016 and 2018. He was also placed 2nd in 2019 and 5th in 2020. In 2022, Forbes India included him in its first ever "Showstoppers – India's Top 50 Outperformers" list.Filmography
- All films are in Malayalam language unless otherwise noted.
As actor
;Film| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
| 2012 | Prabhuvinte Makkal | Che Guevara Sudheendran | ||
| 2013 | ABCD | Akhilesh Varma | ||
| 2013 | August Club | Mahesh | ||
| 2014 | 7th Day | Eby Ebineser | ||
| 2014 | Koothara | Tharun | ||
| 2015 | You Too Brutus | Tovino | ||
| 2015 | Onnam Loka Mahayudham | Jacob | ||
| 2015 | Ennu Ninte Moideen | Perumpparambil Appu | ||
| 2015 | Charlie | Georgy | ||
| 2016 | Monsoon Mangoes | Sanjay | ||
| 2016 | 2 Penkuttikal | Sanju | ||
| 2016 | Style | Edgar and Fletcher Kelly | Dual role | |
| 2016 | Guppy | Engineer Thejus Varkey | ||
| 2017 | Ezra | Shafeer Ahammed | ||
| 2017 | Oru Mexican Aparatha | Paul and Kochaniyan | Dual role | |
| 2017 | Godha | Anjaneya Das aka Dasan | ||
| 2017 | Tharangam | G. Padmanabhan Pillai | ||
| 2017 | Mayanadhi | Mathews aka Mathan | ||
| 2018 | Aami | Lord Krishna | ||
| 2018 | Naam | Himself | Cameo | |
| 2018 | Abhiyum Anuvum | Abhimanyu / Abhi | Tamil film | |
| 2018 | Maradona | Maradona | ||
| 2018 | Theevandi | Bineesh Damodaran | ||
| 2018 | Oru Kuprasidha Payyan | Ajayan | ||
| 2018 | Ente Ummante Peru | Hameed and Khalid | ||
| 2018 | Maari 2 | Gangadhar Beeja aka Thanatos | Tamil film | |
| 2019 | Lucifer | Jathin Ramdas | Extended cameo | |
| 2019 | Uyare | Vishal Rajashekharan | ||
| 2019 | Virus | Paul K Abraham | ||
| 2019 | And the Oscar Goes To... | Issak Ebrahem | ||
| 2019 | Luca | Luca | ||
| 2019 | Kalki | K / Kalki | ||
| 2019 | Edakkad Battalion 06 | Shafeeque Mohammad | ||
| 2020 | Forensic | Samuel John Kattookkaran | ||
| 2020 | Kilometers and Kilometers | Josemon | ||
| 2021 | Kala | Shaji | ||
| 2021 | Kaanekkaane | Alan | ||
| 2021 | Kurup | Charlie | Cameo | |
| 2021 | Minnal Murali | Jaison Varghese / Minnal Murali and Martin Rangakala | Dual role | |
| 2022 | Naaradan | Chandraprakash | ||
| 2022 | Dear Friend | Vinod | ||
| 2022 | Vaashi | Ebin Mathew | ||
| 2022 | Vazhakku | Siddharthan | ||
| 2022 | Thallumaala | Manavalan Wazim "Wazi" | ||
| 2023 | Neelavelicham | Vaikom M. Basheer | ||
| 2023 | 2018 | Anoop | ||
| 2023 | Adrishya Jalakangal | Unnamed young Man | ||
| 2024 | Anweshippin Kandethum | SI Anand Narayanan Pillai | ||
| 2024 | Nadikar | David Padikkal | ||
| 2024 | ARM | Ajayan, Maniyan & Kunjikelu | 50th film; Triple role | |
| 2025 | Identity | Haran Shankar | ||
| 2025 | L2: Empuraan | Jathin Ramdas | ||
| 2025 | Maranamass | Puthanthottil Umesh | Cameo; Also producer | |
| 2025 | Narivetta | Varghese Peter | ||
| 2025 | Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra | Michael & Maathan | Dual role; Extended cameo | |
| 2026 | TBA | Filming | ||
| 2026 | TBA |
;Music Videos
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes | Ref |
| 2018 | Ulaviravu | Tarun | Tamil | Ondraga Original |
As playback singer
| Year | Film | Song | Notes | Ref |
| 2022 | Thallumaala | "Tupathu" | Co-sung with Shakthisree Gopalan and Vishnu Vijay |
As producer
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref |
| 2020 | Kilometers and Kilometers | ||
| 2021 | Kala | ||
| 2022 | Vazhakku | ||
| 2023 | Adrishya Jalakangal | ||
| 2025 | Maranamass |
Awards and nominations
Personal life
Tovino married his longtime girlfriend, Lidiya at St. Thomas Cathedral, Irinjalakuda, on 25 October 2014. The duo had met during their school days and married after nine years. The couple has a daughter and a son born in 2016 and 2020 respectively.Philanthropy
In 2021, Tovino is announced as the ambassador of the Samoohika Sannadhasena, the community volunteer program launched by the Government of Kerala. The community volunteer program was launched to tackle natural disasters by imparting training to volunteers and provide aid to the public in times of crisis. Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala appreciated Tovino's involvement in flood relief activities and noted that his presence will influence the youth to join in the community volunteer program.Tovino had volunteered during 2018 Kerala floods to lead rescue and rehabilitation missions. In 2021, Tovino received golden visa from the Government of UAE.
After Mammootty and Mohanlal, Tovino became the third Malayalam film actor to receive the Golden Visa issued by the United Arab Emirates.