Even though he made his debut in 2002 with the Malayalam movie Nizhalkuthu, Vishnu Priyan is known for for his work in the Tamil film industry. Four years after his debut, he featured alongside Uma in IIakkanam, marking his Tamil film debut. He then went on to star in a string of Tamil movies such as Thotta, Ninaithale Inikkum, Ayyanar, and Arya Surya.

Playing the role of Karthik in the Raaj Shreedhar-directed Madhumati, Vishnu made his Telugu film debut in 2013, following which his next Telugu project was the 2016 release Dil Unna Raju. The same year, in 2016, he also had another Tamil release titled Angali Pangali, which featured him alongside Sanyathara and Soori. Next, he was seen in the Tamil fantasy film Merlin, which co-stars Ashwini Chandrashekar.