- 2007 – Made his professional acting debut as Anwar Kharral in the British teen drama Skins.
- 2008 – Broke through internationally with his feature-film debut as Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire; the performance later brought him a BAFTA leading-actor nomination, while the cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award.
- 2012 – Transitioned into American prestige television as technology-focused journalist Neal Sampat in Aaron Sorkin’s HBO drama The Newsroom.
- 2017 – Reached a new awards peak for Lion, winning the BAFTA for supporting actor and receiving his first Academy Award nomination.
- 2018 – Expanded into producing by serving as an executive producer on Hotel Mumbai, in which he also starred.
- 2019 – Took the title role in The Personal History of David Copperfield, demonstrating his comic range in the film selected to open the BFI London Film Festival.
- 2021 – Headlined David Lowery’s Arthurian fantasy The Green Knight as Sir Gawain, further establishing himself as a leading man in ambitious genre films.
- 2024 – Made his feature-directing debut with Monkey Man, which he also co-wrote, produced and starred in; it won the SXSW Headliner Audience Award, and he was included in the TIME100 list.