When aged 27, he watched the film "Udhayam", the dubbed version of the Telugu film "Siva", and was inspired to take up acting. He entered the Tamil film industry in 1991 with Bharathiraja's rural film "Pudhu Nellu Pudhu Naathu", playing the antagonist role. After the stupendous success of "Ejamaan" (1993), Napoleon went on to play the villain to great effect in Malayalam and Telugu cinema too. He is praised for good best performance and acting in his Malayalam movie called "Devasuram" (1993). Napoleon turned hero on-screen too with "Kizhakku Cheemayile" (1993) in which he played an anti-hero. After that film, Pratap Pothen gave "Seevalaperi Pandi" (1994). That film turned out to be a mega hit. He was awarded Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for his performance in "Ettupatti Rasa" (1997).