Tovino made his acting debut in Prabhuvinte Makkal directed by Sajeev Anthikkad in 2012.Subsequently, he worked as an Assistant Director in Roopesh Peethambaran's Theevram. ABCD (2013) where he portrayed an antagonist received critical and commercial success.Tovino appeared as the lead in the film Koothara which also featured Mohanlal.Tovino played a lead role in Roopesh Peethambaran's directorial venture You Too Brutus.
He has played major roles in the films including 7th Day (2014), Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015), Charlie (2015), and Guppy (2016), Oru Mexican Aparatha (2017), Ezra, Godha (2017) and Mayaanadhi (2017). The films had achieved critical and commercial success making him one of the leading actors of Malayalam cinema. Guppy (2016) received critical acclaim and the film became a cult classic upon the DVD and digital release.
He portrayed the role of Perumparambil Appu in the film Ennu Ninte Moideen which was released in 2015. The performance received critical acclaim, nominations and multiple awardsHe played the role of Thejus Varky in Guppy (2016). Tovino won the New Sensational Hero Award at the NAFA 2017 for his performance in the film.
Oru Mexican Aparatha which featured Tovino in a double role was an well received in the box office. The film was directed by Tom Emmatty. The next film, Godha which was directed by Basil Joseph, repeated the success and crossed 100 days of shows. Later, Mayaanadhi (2017) became a success with Tovino and Aiswarya Lekshmi receiving much appreciation for the portrayal of the characters.
2018 played to be a crucial year for Tovino Thomas with a series of successful ventures. Theevandi received critical acclaim and received multiple awards and nominations. Meanwhile, Aami which was a biopic was noted by critiques for the performance and details. Maradona which featured Tovino Thomas in the lead role became a commercial and critical success with shows across 128 theaters in Kerala. Tovino Thomas was cast in a major role as the antagonist in Maari 2 with Dhanush. He kept the momentum going with a solid track record in films including Ente Ummante Peru, Lucifer, and Uyare. Uyare was released in South Korea, the first Malayalam film to do so.
Tovino won his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ennu Ninte Moideen. He won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, Behindwoods Critics Award for Best Actor, NAFA award for Outstanding Performance and Youth Award for Mayaanadhi. His character as Vishal in the movie Uyare received reviews from several film critics.
