Mishra was born in Siwan, Bihar. He did his schooling from Chhapra Zila School and attended Chapra’s Rajendra College where he pursued Bachelor of Science in Physics (Honours). Although he wanted to become an engineer, Mishra started doing theatre at a young age with his first role in a Bhojpuri drama based on a story about child marriage titled Gauna Ki Rat. He later joined Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) and Ekjut theatre group to learn acting.

Mishra was first seen in Udaan, written and directed by Kavita Chaudhary, in which he did a small role. In 1994, Mishra played Kroor Singh, a character for which he is best known, in the 1990s fantasy television series Chandrakanta.

Mishra’s first film was Dharavi in 1993, written-directed by Sudhir Mishra, which won the 1993 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi, Best Music Direction and Best Editing.[citation needed] He also played Arjan in the Academy Award nominated film Lagaan.