Footballer-turned-actor, Sunil Thapa is one of the most prominent personalities of the Nepali film industry He is popular for essaying negative characters in Nepali films and has appeared in several Hindi films. Thapa, who started his modeling career in Mumbai in 1974 had also worked as a photojournalist for the Junior Statesman Magazine at the time. Some of his Nepali movies include Mashaal (1982), Chino (1989), Tan Ta Sarai Bigris Ni Badri (2000), and God Lives in the Himalayas (2009).

In 1981, he appeared in the Hindi movie Ek Duuje Ke Liye. He has since then starred in movies such as Manav Hatya (1981), Albela (1989), and Mary Kom (2014). In 2017, she appeared in the movie GST - Galti Sirf Tumhari directed by Suryakant Tyagi.