The Telugu film industry is famous for its artistes who have brought recognition to Telugu cinema in the international film dome today. The Telugu actors would often play mythological characters in the 1930s. In fact till the late 1950s a host of mythological films were being made to entertain as well as educate the audience. With changing times the social films became the vogue and with these films rose a new set of male and female Telugu actors.

One of the earliest Telugu actors in India was Chittoor V Nagaiah. He was famous for enacting the mythological roles to perfection. Before making his foray into films he had acted on stage. It was his camaraderie with Telugu directors like Bommireddy Narasimha Reddy and HM Reddy that he was initiated into films. His first film where he had a pivotal role was Gruhalakshmi (1938). His filmography includes Vande Mataram (1939), Devatha (1941), Ashok Kumar (1941), Bhakta Potana (1942), Swargaseema (1945), Meera (1945), Thyagayya (1946), Yogi Vemana (1947), Mana Desam (1949), Beedala Patlu (1950), Gumasta (1953), Anarkali (1955), Muddu Bidda (1956), Tenali Ramakrishna (1956), Jayabheri (1959), Shantinivasam (1960), Sabash Raja (1961), Dakshayagnam (1962), Ramadasu (1964), Devatha (1964), Bhakta Potana (1966), Shri Krishna Pandaviyam (1966), Iru Malargal (1967), Iddaru Ammayilu (1972) and others. Besides being a successful actor Nagaiah was also a prominent music composer. He later went on to direct movies.

The contemporary male and female Telugu actors of Chittoor V Nagaiah were Bhanumathi, YV Rao, Kannamba, Kamala Kotnis and Kanchanamala.

Bhanumathi was a renowned female Telugu actor. Her histrionic skills established her as a popular actress amongst the masses. The actress was showered with several awards to recognise her contribution in Indian cinema. Her first film was Varavikrayam in 1939. The film was directed by P Pulaiah. However the film that made her a known name with the audience was Krishna Prema. Her other films were Bhanumati was Malathi Madhavam (1940), Bhaktimala (1941), Swargaseema (1945), Chandirani (1953), Laila Majnu (1949), Chintamani (1956), Nala Damayanti (1957), Batasari (1961), Antastulu (1965), Vichitra Vivaham (1973), Grihalakshmi (1967), Todu Needa (1965), Todu Needa (1965), Todu Needa (1965), Attagaru Swagatham (1988), Chamanthi (1992), Pelli Kanuka (1998), etc.

Bhanumathi, the Telugu actress was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2003. The actress later made her foray into filmmaking. In this arena too she carved a niche for herself. Her other awards were as follows:

National Award Winner as Best Actress: Anthastulu in 1965

National Award Winner as Best Actress: Palnati Yuddham in 1966

National Award Winner as Best Actress: Annai (Tamil) Padma Shri, in 1966

Honorary Doctorate, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, in 1975

Kalai Maamani, Government of Tamil Nadu, in 1983

Honorary Doctorate, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (1984)

Raghupathi Venkaiah Award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 1986

Best Director, Nandi Award in 1986

Raja-Lakshmi Award (1998) from Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation in Chennai

NTR award in 2001 from the Government of Andhra Pradesh

With the ushering in of the social films artistes, such as, LV Prasad, Kasturi Siva Rao, Krishnamurthy, Bezavada Rajaratnam, Suryakumari, Malathi were seen on the silver screen.

Akkineni Nageswara Rao or ANR as he was popularly known was the first commercial hero of Telugu film industry. This prolific Telugu actor got his first break in a mythological film, Sri Sitarama Jananam (1944) directed by Balaramaiah. He was felicitated with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Padma Sri and Padma Bhusan.

One of the superstars of Telugu film industry was NT Rama Rao or simply NTR. He was admired for his talent for playing mythological characters. His dialogue delivery and superb expressions earned him the names such as "Nata Ratna" and "Vishwa Vikhyatha Nata Sarvabhouma." at a certain stage in his career he shifted to the mass roles. In these roles he portrayed the character of a simpleton who is heroic. These commercial movies and social dramas added to his popularity and he was established as a versatile actor. Although he appeared in 280 films, some of his commendable performances were in Maya Bazaar, Lava Kusa, Sri Krishnaarjuna Yuddham, Bheeshma, Bhookailasa, Nartanasala, Panadava-vanavsam, Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam, Maha Mantri Thimmarusu, Dana Veera Sura Karna, Jagadeka Veeruni Katha, Pathala Bhairavi and others.

Other prominent actors of during this period were Krishna, Dr. Subba Rao, Relangi, Sivarao, Sriranjani, Santhakumari, Malathi, Hemalatha, S.V. Ranga Rao, Harnath, Krishnamraju, Shoban Babu, Gummadi, Jaggaiah, Kantha Rao, Rajababu, Satyanarayana, Chalam, Padmanabham, Raavi Kondala Rao, Rajanala, Nagabhushanam, Ravi Kondala Rao, Chandramohan, Somayajulu, Mohan Babu and others.

Amongst these Telugu actors Shoban Babu was one of the earliest romantic heroes of Telegu cinema. Although his first film was Daivabalam directed by Vasanthkumar Reddy but Bhakta Sabari was released first. One of the female Telugu actors with whom he was often paired was Sarada. He was recipient of Filmfare Awards thrice. Apart from this he was also presented with Nandi Award, AP Cinegoers Award, Madras Film Fans Award, Vamsi Berkely Award, AP Film Fans Award, Andhrapatrika Award, etc.

Sarada is an award winning Telugu actress who is active even today. Trained by the ace director LV Prasad her first break came with Mithramithrulu. Nimajjanam in 1977 fetched her the National Award. Apart from this she was also felicitated with the same award twice in 1968 and 1972.

Another Telugu actor who revolutionised the Telegu silver screen was Chiranjeevi. His social dramas, action movies brought in a completely different era in Telugu cinema. His angry young man roles were runaway hits. The complete commercial films got a boost with his style of acting. Now the Telugu films included dances, both fusion and classical dances and impressive fight scenes. Today he hailed as the megastar of Telugu cinema. He came into focus with the film Pranam Khareedu in 1978. Then he went onto act films such as Manavoori Pandavulu (1978), I Love You (1979), Subhalekha (1982), Intlo Ramayya Veedilo Krishnayya (1982), Khaidi (1982), Abhilasha (1983), Intiguttu (1984), Hero (1984), Vijetha (1984), Donga (1985), Swayamkrushi (1987), Marana Mrudangam (1988), Rudraveena (1988), Aapathbandhavudu (1992), Muta Mesthri (1993), Sneha Kosam (1999), Indra (2002), Tagore (2003), Shankar Dada MBBS (2004), Stalin (2006) and several others. He has been awarded Nandi and Filmfare awards several times. He is also the winner of Padma Bhushan in 2006.

Nagarjuna is another Telugu actor who is a known face on the south Indian silvers screen. His first movie was Vikram in 1986. His first big hit was Akhari Poratnaam with Sridevi. Then came Geethanjali, Shiva, Santosham, Ninne Pelladutha, Annamayya, Nenunnanu, Mass and other films in Telugu. He received the National Award in the Jury section for the film Annamayya. He is also the recipient of Filmfare and Nandi awards.

Soundarya was one of the leading ladies of Telegu film industry whom the masses loved. She has acted in several Telegu as well as Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada movies. However her impressive career came to a halt owing to her death in a plane crash in 2004. Other contemporary female Telugu actors are Shobhana, Simran Bagga, Nagma, Keerthi Reddy, Sneha, Ramya Krishna, Rambha, Shriya, Roja and others.

Asin Thttumkal is a popular Telegu actor today. She made her acting debut in 2001 with the flick Narendra Makan Jayakanthan Vaka. Within a short time span she has established herself as one of the most promising stars in the industry. In 2003 she bagged the Filmfare Award for the Best Actress for her performance in Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi.

Other popular Telugu actors are Nagabhushanam, Ravi Kondala Rao, Chandramohan, Somayajulu, Mohan Babu, Venkatesh, Rajendra Prasad, Tanikella Bharani, Mahesh Babu, Pawan Kalyan, Jr. NTR, Prabhas, Uday Kiran, Ramcharan Tej, Allu Arjun, Tarun, Siddharth, Nithin, Sameera Reddy, Charmi, Radha, Radhika, Aarthi Agarwal, Genelia D`Souza, Ileana and several others. Moat of the se actors have donned the hat of Telugu directors.