Devaraj was born on 21 September 1953 to Ramachandrappa and Krishnamma in
Lingarajpuram, a locality in
Bangalore, in the erstwhile
Mysore State (now
Karnataka). His father worked in ITC Factory, Welfare department. Devaraj lost his father when he was three months old to
malaria. In 1976, due to his family's financial problems, Devaraj decided to work in a HMT Watch factory, in the case and dial department, where he worked for nine years. During this time, he was suggested to act in dramas by a senior colleague, Govindaraju. Consequently, Devaraj joined R.Nagesh's theatre group, before joining the
B. Jayashree's group Spandana and later
Shankar Nag's
Sanket. Devaraj's film debut came in 1985, where he played a supporting role in
Trishula. He continued to appear as a supporting actor, then acted in leading roles. ==Career==