Surya studied at PSBB and St. Bede's, Chennai. He completed his commerce graduation from Loyola College, Chennai. He was employed in a garment manufacturing company in Ambattur, Chennai. A notable point is Vijay, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Karthik Raja (both Ilayaraaja's sons), Vishnuvardhan and Surya were all class mates during their studies.

His father is actor Sivakumar. He is the eldest son in the family with one younger brother Karthik and younger sister Brindha. He married actress Jyothika on September 11, 2006.

His debut film, Nerrukku Ner (1997) with Vijay was a big hit but all his succeeding films did not do well. His first reasonable success was in the movie Poovellam Kettuppar (1999). His next movie with Vijay, Friends was a big hit. But he did not get any big breaks and his career seemed to be stalled until director Bala approached him for a role in his next venture titled Nandha. Surya’s next venture was with Vikraman in the movie Unnai Ninathu and the movie was able to record good collections [citation needed]. This was followed by Mounam Pesiyadhe which also did decently well.Surya’s first all round hit was Kaaka Kaaka, a movie about the life of a police officer. In the movie Perazhagan, Surya acted in two roles, one as a boxer and the other as a handicapped but a confident phone booth keeper. His role as the handicapped was praised by critics, and he received a Filmfare for Best Actor for his performance. His role in Aayitha Ezhuthu as a student leader was also favoured by the critics. [citation needed] In 2005, Surya delivered more successful films in the form of Maayavi and Ghajini - afterwards he set up a production company called Studio Green which distributed the movie in the Chennai district. Ghajini was one of the most sensational hits of 2005, with Surya playing a STML patient, for which he even tonsured his head. Surya's recent release is N. Krishna's Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. He acted opposite his real-life partner Jyothika in the film. The movie released on September 8 2006. The movie was an average grosser. Up next, Surya has signed up to an untitled A. R. Murugadoss film and a film with Gautham Menon, Vaaranam Aayiram directed by Gautham Menon. He also dubbed Abhishek Bachchan's role in the Tamil version of Guru.[1] Surya is also brand ambassador for various products.