Debut, breakthrough and television success (20002013) Khan's first
television role was a bumbling spy named Bond with his bandmate,
Ahmad Ali Butt, in the 2001 sitcom
Jutt and Bond. His debut film was
Shoaib Mansoor's
sociodrama Khuda Kay Liye, where he played a musician who is brainwashed by the local
maulvi. Although the film received positive reviews, critical response to Khan's performance was mixed.
Taran Adarsh of
Bollywood Hungama called it "strictly OK", but
The Economic Times film critic Gaurav Malani found him "engaged" in the role of an extremist. Released in 2007, the film grossed 250 million and is one of
Pakistan's highest-grossing films. Khan received the
Lux Style Award for Best Actor – Film in 2008, and appeared in the TV series
Dil Deke Jaenge. In 2010, Khan played a conservative, middle-class boy in the telefilm
Aaj Kuch Na Kaho. Although it received negative reviews,
Dawn found Khan "superbly convincing" and called him the film's "only redeeming factor". That year, he starred with
Sanam Baloch in
Haissam Hussain's
period TV series
Dastaan. Based on
Razia Butt's novel,
Bano, its story (set in the 1940s) revolves around the separation of a young couple during the
1947 partition. A
Dawn reviewer wrote that Khan and his costars gave "superlative performances to match Samira Fazal's wonderful script", and
The Express Tribune praised the lead pair's onscreen chemistry. For his performance, Khan won the Best Drama Actor award at the
Pakistan Media Awards. Haissam Hussain's comedy
Akbari Asghari, a modern adaptation of
Mirat-ul-Uroos, was Khan's first television series in 2011; he played Asghar, an unambitious villager who wants to marry one of his cousins. In an interview with
The Hindu Anuj Kumar, Khan described his character as "completely oaf[ish]". In
Kuch Pyar Ka Pagalpan, his third collaboration with Hussain, he starred with Sanam Baloch,
Meekal Zulfiqar and
Ayesha Khan as a computer engineer who wants to take over his uncle's business. Khan later starred with
Mahira Khan in
Sarmad Khoosat's TV serial drama,
Humsafar, for which he won the Best Actor award at the 2012
Lux Style Awards.
Humsafar is Pakistan's highest-rated television serial. The series and Khan's performance were praised. Ranika Rajani praised
Humsafar in
The Indian Express, calling it a "breath of fresh air" and preferring it to Indian soap operas. According to Rajani, the lead pair's chemistry was the biggest factor in the show's success.
Zee News critic Ritka Handoo enjoyed the protagonists' performances, calling the Khans a "quite believable onscreen couple". Khan's first 2012 role was Rohail, a
Turkish resident who goes to Pakistan to marry his cousin but instead marries her sister, in Sarmad Khoosat's
Ashk. That year, he played a member of an affluent family (with
Sanam Saeed) in
Sultana Siddiqui's family-drama TV series
Zindagi Gulzar Hai. The serial, one of the most critically acclaimed
Pakistani dramas, also received widespread praise in
India. Dipti Sharma of
The Indian Express enjoyed Khan's skillful portrayal. The role earned him several awards, including the
Hum Award for Best Actor Popular and the Lux Style Award for Best Actor – Satellite. Khan's last TV serial was
Ahson Talish's sociodrama,
Numm. Broadcast in 2013, Khan played a boy who secretly marries a girl in
London and is forced to marry another girl when he returns to Pakistan.
Behadd, director
Asim Raza's telefilm, featured Khan as a young divorcee who proposes to a widow who is the mother of a teenage girl. The
Times of India noted that Khan's character in
Behadd was different from those in
Humsafar and
Zindagi Gulzar Hai, calling it "another benchmark". His last telefilm was Anjum Shahzad's romance
Armaan (with
Aamina Sheikh), where he played a young, flirtatious boy. He also co-wrote the telefilm's screenplay, with
Vasay Chaudhry.
Work in India (2014–2016) at a promotional event for their film
Khoobsurat in 2014. Khan was originally expected to make his debut in
India's
Hindi film industry, commonly known as 'Bollywood', soon after the release of
Khuda Kay Liye but the unstable political situation between India and Pakistan after the
2008 Mumbai terror attacks delayed it. He made his Bollywood debut in
Shashanka Ghosh's 2014
comedy-
drama,
Khoobsurat, with
Sonam Kapoor. Khan played Vikram Singh Rathore, Kapoor's love interest and the son of her patient. On
Zee News, Ritika Handoo praised his "immensely polished acting skills" and said that he fit his character very well. Deepanjana Pal of
Firstpost liked Gosh's decision to make Khan's character a sex object, feeling that he blazed a trail for other male actors in similar roles. The film was particularly well received in the
UK, the
UAE, and Pakistan because of Khan's following in those countries from his television work. He received a
Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his role in the film. Khan made a cameo appearance in
Asim Raza's
coming-of-age film,
Ho Mann Jahaan, in January 2016. He then had a main role in
Shakun Batra's family drama,
Kapoor & Sons. The film, which featured Khan as part of an ensemble cast including
Rishi Kapoor,
Ratna Pathak Shah,
Rajat Kapoor,
Sidharth Malhotra, and
Alia Bhatt, was a commercial success. The actor received near-unanimous critical praise for his portrayal of Rahul Kapoor, a
closeted homosexual writer. A
Bollywood Hungama reviewer enjoyed Khan's performance, saying that his character creates an emotional connection with the audience, and
NDTV film critic Saibal Chaterjee praised his self-assured performance.
Kapoor & Sons earned Khan the Diversity Award at the
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and a nomination for
Best Supporting Actor at the
62nd Filmfare Awards. According to the film's producer,
Karan Johar, "We went to six actors and after six rejections, I told Shakun Batra (director) that we should drop the idea and he started developing another screenplay. Later, in a flash of thought Fawad came to my mind. I sent him the script, he loved it and said he would do it." In September 2016, Johar said that Khan's wife pressured him to accept the role. Later in 2016, Khan appeared in a small role with
Ranbir Kapoor,
Anushka Sharma, and
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Karan Johar's
romantic drama,
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.
Raja Sen of
Rediff.com found his role "far too little to justify the ridiculous kerfuffle his casting had caused", but called him the perfect choice for the part. In
Deccan Chronicle Subhash K. Jha described Khan's role as "meagre and sketchy". After the
2016 Uri terror attack, relations between
India and
Pakistan deteriorated and the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) and the Film Producers Guild of India banned Pakistani artists from working in India until the situation normalised.
Acting comeback (2022–present) In 2022, Khan made his acting comeback with his
Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in
Ms. Marvel as Hassan,
Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel's great-grandfather. Later in 2022, Khan appeared in
Bilal Lashari's
Punjabi action-drama film,
The Legend of Maula Jatt, alongside
Mahira Khan and
Hamza Ali Abbassi in which Fawad played the title role originated by
Sultan Rahi. For the role, he gained considerable weight. It became the
highest-grossing Pakistani film of all time as well as the
highest-grossing Punjabi-language film of all time. In 2023, he appeared in
Faisal Qureshi's comedy film
Money Back Guarantee which got mixed reviews. In 2024, Khan appeared in
Asim Abbasi's 2024
fantasy drama series
Barzakh which garnered generally positive reviews from critics.
Upcoming projects He is expected to appear as pop singer
Alamgir in Sultan Ghani's
Albela Rahi. He will also be seen with
Mahira Khan in a film called Neelofer. Fawad Khan will also be seen in the lead role of renowned director and producer Haseeb Hasan's upcoming film "Aan". Khan will also be seen in Pakistan's first
Netflix Original Series,
Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo which is an official adaptation of
Farhat Ishtiaq’s 2013
Urdu-language novel of the same name. He will star alongside
Mahira Khan,
Sanam Saeed, and
Ahad Raza Mir. In 2024, he started filming Aarti S. Bagdi's romantic comedy
Aabeer Gulaal in the UK, alongside
Vaani Kapoor, the film was scheduled for release on 9 May 2025 but was later postponed indefinitely following the
2025 Pahalgam attack and the ensuing
India–Pakistan diplomatic tensions. == Music career ==