Fawad Khan

 ( 21st-century Pakistani Male Actors ) 

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 oafish". 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 people 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. "Fawad Khan: I don't want to be a romantic hero" (25 March 2016), FRIDAY magazine. Retrieved 22 January 2019.

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 Romance film 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.

Later in 2022, Khan appeared in Bilal Lashari's Punjabi cinema 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.