Suriya

Suriya, born in Chennai to actor Sivakumar and Lakshmi, actually grew up in Coimbatore. He’s the oldest kid in the family—his brother Karthi, also an actor, and their sister Brindha. School days were spent at PSBB and St. Bede’s in Chennai, and he wrapped up a commerce degree at Loyola College. Before getting into movies, he worked in a garment export factory for a bit, not even telling folks he was Sivakumar’s son. Of course, secrets never last. He almost debuted in Vasanth’s Aasai but turned it down, not too keen on acting at the time. But eventually, he started with Nerrukku Ner in 1997, with a little help from Mani Ratnam. That’s when he got the name “Suriya,” to avoid confusion with another actor. Early films didn’t exactly set the world on fire, but in 2001, the comedy Friends (with Vijay again) was a huge hit. Nandha, directed by Bala, really flipped things for him—he played an ex-con who’s super close to his mom and snagged a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for it. After that, roles started getting meatier. He took on dual roles in Perazhagan and nailed the performance, then starred in Mani Ratnam’s Ayitha Ezhuthu, which was both a hit and critically loved. Ghajini was massive—he played a guy with short-term memory loss, and honestly, people still talk about it. He kept rolling with hits like Vel and Vaaranam Aayiram, showing off insane range by playing both a young guy and an old man, getting ripped for the role without any steroids. The guy just doesn’t quit.