Claim: Akshay Kumar is an actor.

Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor and producer who made his début with a minor role in the 1987 Mahesh Bhatt directed Indian film Aaj . He appeared as the lead actor in Saugandh -LRB- 1991 -RRB- before making his breakthrough with the suspense thriller Khiladi -LRB- 1992 -RRB- , the first film of the Khiladi series . In the same year , he appeared in the Pramod Chakravorty-produced film Deedar . In 1994 , Kumar earned his first nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare Awards for his performance in the Yash Chopra-produced romance Yeh Dillagi and starred in Mohra . The following year he appeared in Sabse Bada Khiladi . Kumar played a supporting role in the Chopra-directed romance Dil To Pagal Hai -LRB- 1997 -RRB- , for which he received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor . However , several other of his releases in the 1990s , including Lahu Ke Do Rang , Insaaf , Daava , Tarazu , Angaaray , Barood and Zulmi performed poorly at the box office leading to a setback in his film career .   Kumar 's performance in the Suneel Darshan-directed crime drama Jaanwar -LRB- 1999 -RRB- received critical acclaim and marked his comeback . In 2000 , he starred in the Priyadarshan-directed comedy Hera Pheri and the Dharmesh Darshan-directed romantic drama Dhadkan . The following year Kumar played a negative role in Ajnabee , which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role . In 2004 , he starred in the Abbas-Mustan-directed romantic thriller Aitraaz and the David Dhawan-directed romantic comedy Mujhse Shaadi Karogi . His performance in the latter earned him his third nomination for supporting actor at the Filmfare Awards as well as a nomination for best comic role . That year , he presented the television series Seven Deadly Arts with Akshay Kumar and received a nomination for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in the action thriller Khakee . His role in the comedy Garam Masala earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role in 2006 . In 2007 , Kumar starred in four consecutive commercially successful films ; the romantic comedy Welcome , the psychological thriller Bhool Bhulaiyaa and the comedies Heyy Babyy and Namastey London .   Kumar earned a nomination for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in the comic drama Singh Is Kinng -LRB- 2008 -RRB- . In the same year , he founded the Hari Om Entertainment production company , and hosted the first season of the reality game show Fear Factor : Khatron Ke Khiladi . The following year Kumar was awarded the Padma Shri , India 's fourth highest civilian award , for his services to the Indian film industry . Kumar hosted the first season of MasterChef India in 2010 . The following year he founded another production company , Grazing Goat Pictures , and produced the Indo-Canadian hockey-based film Breakaway , which became the highest grossing cross-cultural film at the Canadian box office . In the same year , Kumar voiced Optimus Prime in the Hindi dub of Transformers : Dark of the Moon and appeared in the comedies Housefull 2 and Rowdy Rathore . The latter two films grossed over at the box office . He received another Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award nomination for his portrayal of Lord Krishna in the Umesh Shukla-directed satirical comedy drama OMG -- Oh My God ! -LRB- 2012 -RRB- . The following year he starred in the heist thriller Special 26 and the crime drama Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara ! . In 2014 , he starred in the action thriller Holiday : A Soldier Is Never Off Duty , which became his third film to gross over at the box office , and hosted the reality show Dare 2 Dance . Kumar followed this by playing an Indian security agent in the espionage film Baby . In 2016 , Kumar received critical acclaim for his performances in Airlift and Rustom . He also received the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Rustom .