Shiva Rajkumar started his acting career with the film
Anand (1986). Before that, he had appeared as a child artist in small roles in
Dhoomakethu (1968) and
Sri Srinivasa Kalyana (1974) - both starring his father
Dr. Rajkumar. In his career spanning over 36 years, he played a variety of roles. The most notable movies of his career are
Janumada Jodi,
Jogi,
Anand,
Ratha Sapthami,
Nammoora Mandara Hoove,
Om and
Chigurida Kanasu. He acted in
Sugreeva, which was shot in 18 hours. His
Om, directed by
Upendra, set a trend for gangster movies in
Kannada and other film industries in India. It continues to be shown even to this day. In
Bhoomi Thayiya Chochchala Maga (1998), Shiva Rajkumar played Karna, a friend of legislator Bharath Kumar, played by
Ramesh Aravind, out on a mission to achieve the latter's unfulfilled goal of having a dam constructed in a village. His performance received praise; Srikanth Srinivasa of
Deccan Herald called it his "best... till date". Srinivasa also praised Shiva Rajkumar for his performance in
Don (2003), where he played a lawyer-turned-serial-killer, and wrote, "Shivanna excels in his role as the don. He has put in a spirited yet collected and controlled performance." His film
Cheluveye Ninne Nodalu was shot at the seven wonders of the world. His 100th movie,
Jogayya, is the sequel to his blockbuster
Jogi. In his last release of 2017, Shiva Rajkumar starred as mobster Bhairathi Ranagal in the crime drama,
Mufti. The film was critically acclaimed and commercially successful. In his second collaboration with director
Duniya Suri, Shiva Rajkumar played a cop that takes on the underworld in the latter's
Tagaru (2018). The film proved to be another success and is seen as a landmark in his career.
The Hindu called it "one of the biggest hits" of his career, and "... [t]his happens to be one of Shivanna's most mature performances." His only other release of 2018,
Prem's
The Villain, was not received well and a critic wrote, "[Shiva] expectedly, doesn’t disappoint but he is let down by a weak role." Shiva Rajkumar made a cameo in his brother Puneeth's posthumous release
James (2022), also
dubbing for him in the film's end portions. In
Vijay Milton's
Bairagee, an adaptation of his
Kadugu (2017), he plays Shivappa, a folk artist specialising in
pulivesha, who gets entangled in the politics of the region. A critic wrote, "Shivarajkumar convincingly pulls off the role of a pulivesha artist and gives a stellar all-around performance. Shivanna takes us back to the classic characters that he played in films like
Om,
Jogi, and
Kaddipudi." In his fourth collaboration with
A. Harsha, and his 125th film, he starred in an eponymous role in the revenge drama
Vedha. Shiva Rajkumar's first release of 2023 came through a cameo as gangster Siddhantha in
R. Chandru's
Kabzaa. The year marked his debut in
Tamil cinema, with his next release coming in the
Rajinikanth-starrer,
Nelson Dilipkumar's action-comedy titled
Jailer (2023). In another cameo, he played Narasimha, which was well received by audiences. The critic from
The Hindu called it "excellent". Shiva Rajkumar's role in another Tamil film,
Captain Miller, was confirmed in December 2022, and in an eponymous role in
Bhairathi Ranagal, a prequel to
Mufti, in May 2023. His
heist film Ghost was released in October 2023. This was Shiva's first collaboration with Sreenivas. In 2024, the producers had lauded him for giving consistent no. of movies every year which do minimum guarantee business at the box office – making him the first actor in
Kannada cinema to continue to play the lead role continuously even after the age of 60 years. His 2024 movie
Bhairathi Ranagal was the first prequel of
Kannada cinema. ==Personal life==