Popular Channel [V] VJ Aditya Roy Kapur was content with his small-screen avatar and did not aspire to become an actor until he was offered the role of a Pakistani musician in Vipul Shah's London Dreams (2009).

The film did not bring him much recognition. His next two films, Vipul Shah's Action Replayy (2010) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Guzaarish (2010), were box-office duds that did not excite the critics either.

Aditya Roy Kapur hit the jackpot with Mohit Suri's Aashiqui 2 (2013), which was among the top grossing films of the year. His rendition of the successful but alcoholic musician Rahul Jaykar brought him both popular and critical recognition. His performance and his chemistry with co-star Shraddha Kapoor were recognized with numerous awards, including the Big STAR Entertainment award for Best Actor in a Romantic Role and the Screen Jodi No 1 award and the Star Guild Jodi No 1 award with Shraddha Kapoor.

With Ayan Mukherjee's coming-of-age romantic drama Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) too, Aditya Roy Kapur found commercial success. His performance fetched him the IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) award for Best Supporting Actor. In the following years, he appeared in Habib Faisal's Daawat-e-Ishq (2014) and Abhishek Kapoor's Fitoor (2016), both flops. He was seen in a guest appearance in Gauri Shinde's Dear Zindagi (2016).

In 2017, Aditya Roy Kapur was seen in just one film, Shaad Ali's OK Jaanu. Though the film was a remake of Mani Ratnam's hit O Kadhal Kanmani (2015) and Roy Kapur was paired once again with Shraddha Kapoor, the film sank.

In 2018, he again had just one release, Welcome To New York, which was another dud, putting his acting career in some jeopardy. Aditya Roy Kapur is the brother of producer Siddharth Roy Kapur and actor Kunal Roy Kapur.