# Tovino Thomas

Tovino Thomas (born 21 January 1989) 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 (2013), 7th Day (2014), and Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015). He starred as the titular character in the Netflix superhero film Minnal Murali (2021).
He won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015). He also won the Kerala Film Critics Association Award and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Malayalam for his performance in Mayanadhi (2017). 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 own production house, Tovino Thomas Productions. Kala is the first venture by his own production house.

## Early life and education

Tovino Thomas was born on 21 January 1989 in 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 (Plus Two) 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 helmed 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 (2012) directed by Sajeev Anthikkad. Subsequently, he worked as an assistant director in Roopesh Peethambaran's Theevram. In ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi (2013) he portrayed the role of the antagonist. Tovino played the lead in the film Koothara which also featured Mohanlal. He played the lead role in Roopesh Peethambaran's second directorial venture You Too Brutus.
He has played major roles in the films including 7th Day (2014) and Charlie (2015).

### 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 (2016) 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 Filmfare Critics Award for 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's top 25 Malayalam films of the decade. The same year he appeared in Ezra in a major supporting role.
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 and became commercial success.
In 2023 he starred in Neelavelicham, in which he portrayed the role of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer and in 2018 which collected 176 crore and became the Highest grossing Malayalam film ever.

## 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.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
* All films are in Malayalam language unless otherwise noted.

### As actor

List of Tovino Thomas film credits as actor :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 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 / Fletre 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 | Abhiyude Katha Anuvinteyum | Abhimanyu / Abhi | Simultaneously shot in Tamil as Abhiyum Anuvum |
| 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 | |
| 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" / 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 | Ajayante Randam Moshanam | Ajayan, Maniyan & Kunjikelu (triple role) | 50th film |
| 2025 | Identity | Haran Shankar | |
| 2025 | L2: Empuraan † | Jathin Ramdas | Post-production |
| 2025 | Narivetta † | TBA | Post-production |
| 2025 | Palli Chattambi † | TBA | Filming |

### As playback singer

List of Tovino Thomas film credits as singer :
| Year | Film | Song | Notes | Ref |
| 2022 | Thallumaala | "Tupathu" | Co-sung with Shakthisree Gopalan and Vishnu Vijay | |

### As producer

List of Tovino Thomas film credits as producer :
| Year | Title |
| 2020 | Kilometers and Kilometers |
| 2021 | Kala |
| 2022 | Vazhakku |
| 2023 | Adrishya Jalakangal |

## Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations :
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2015 | Asiavision Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Ennu Ninte Moideen | Won |
| 2016 | Asianet Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Ennu Ninte Moideen | Nominated |
| 2016 | CPC Cine Awards | Best Character Actor | Ennu Ninte Moideen | Won |
| 2016 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Supporting Actor – Malayalam | Ennu Ninte Moideen | Won |
| 2016 | IIFA Utsavam | Best Supporting Actor – Malayalam | Ennu Ninte Moideen | Nominated |
| 2016 | South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Malayalam | Ennu Ninte Moideen | Nominated |
| 2016 | Asiavision Awards | Outstanding Performance of the Year | Guppy | Won |
| 2017 | Asianet Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Guppy | Nominated |
| 2017 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Supporting Actor – Malayalam | Guppy | Nominated |
| 2017 | South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Malayalam | Guppy | Nominated |
| 2017 | Asianet Comedy Awards | Youth Icon | Godha, Oru Mexican Aparatha | Won |
| 2017 | Asiavision Awards | Man of the Year (Malayalam) | Godha, Oru Mexican Aparatha | Won |
| 2018 | Asianet Film Awards | Performer of the Year | Various films | Won |
| 2018 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor – Malayalam | Mayanadi | Nominated |
| 2018 | Filmfare Awards South | Critics Best Actor – Malayalam | Mayanadi | Won |
| 2018 | Flowers Indian Film Awards | Star of the Year | Mayanadi | Won |
| 2018 | Kerala Film Critics Association Awards | Second Best Actor | Mayanadi | Won |
| 2018 | South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actor – Malayalam | Mayanadi | Nominated |
| 2018 | Vanitha Film Awards | Most Romantic Hero | Mayanadi | Won |
| 2019 | Asianet Film Awards | Performer of the Year | Various films | Won |
| 2019 | Asianet Film Awards | Most Popular Actor | Various films | Nominated |
| 2019 | Asiavision Awards | Best Actor – Malayalam | Mayanadi, Maradona, Theevandi, Oru Kuprasidha Payyan | Won |
| 2019 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor – Malayalam | Various films | Nominated |
| 2019 | Mazhavil Entertainment Awards | Best Actor | Various films | Won |
| 2019 | South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actor – Malayalam | Various films | Won |
| 2022 | South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Actor – Malayalam | Minnal Murali | Won |

## 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.