'' in 2010 Carbonell's first acting role was a guest starring part as Alberto Cordova in an episode of
As the World Turns. He then appeared in episodes of
Law & Order,
Melrose Place,
A Different World,
Reasonable Doubts,
Good Advice,
Brotherly Love, and
The John Larroquette Show. In 1995, he starred in a dual role, Roberto and one half of the Couple in Bar, in
Stephen Sondheim and
George Furth's play
Getting Away with Murder. That same year, he appeared as a main cast member on the short-lived
The WB sitcom
Muscle. He subsequently portrayed the regular role of Luis Rivera on the
Brooke Shields-led sitcom
Suddenly Susan for four seasons (19962000). For much of his early career, he played characters with thick Hispanic accents, and was so convincing that people often assumed that was his normal speaking voice. One of Carbonell's first obstacles in Hollywood was branching out from ethnic roles. In 2000, Carbonell made his debut as a screenwriter with the comedy film
Attention Shoppers, in which he also starred as Enrique Suarez, the lead role. He has since had recurring roles on
Resurrection Blvd.,
The Tick,
Kim Possible (as the voice of Señor Senior Jr.),
Century City,
Strong Medicine, and
Cold Case. He also guest starred on
Scrubs (in the episode "
My Moment of Un-Truth"),
House (in the episode "Cursed"),
Monk (in the episode "Mr. Monk Gets Married"), and
Day Break (in the episode "What If He Can Change the Day?"). In 2006, he appeared alongside his future
Lost co-star
Matthew Fox, as assassin Pasquale Acosta, in the film ''
Smokin' Aces''. at the 2011
San Diego Comic-Con Carbonell was cast as
Richard Alpert on the
third season of
ABC's drama series
Lost. The mysteries surrounding his ageless character were heavily discussed among the fan community throughout his arc in the season. While producing the final episodes of the third season, Carbonell was cast in a starring role as Frank Duque on the
CBS series
Cane. The writers of
Lost modified their original story plan for the third season in anticipation for Carbonell's potential unavailability. Despite Carbonell's willingness to return to the ABC series, CBS president
Nina Tassler ruled out another guest appearance.
Cane was cancelled during the
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, freeing Carbonell from his contract with CBS. In 2008,
Lost showrunner
Carlton Cuse stated that Carbonell would reprise his role as Richard Alpert towards the end of the series'
fourth season, as a result of
Cane cancellation. and was upgraded to a main cast member of
Lost for its sixth and final season. In 2008, he landed the role of Mayor Anthony Garcia in
Christopher Nolan's
The Dark Knight. His wife,
Shannon Kenny, was previously involved in a Batman project, voicing the character
Inque in the
Batman Beyond television series. In 2010, Carbonell joined the series
Psych for two episodes playing
Declan Rand, a criminal profiler. In 2011, Carbonell starred in the CW series
Ringer as FBI agent Victor Machado. Also in 2011, he was announced to guest star in
FX comedy series
Wilfred, a role which later turned into a recurring one. The following year, Carbonell briefly appeared in
The Dark Knight Rises, reprising his role as Mayor Anthony Garcia in the final installment of Christopher Nolan's
Dark Knight trilogy. '' in 2013 From 2013 to the series' ending in 2017, he portrayed Sheriff Alex Romero in the
A&E Psycho prequel series
Bates Motel, opposite
Vera Farmiga and
Freddie Highmore. In the first season, he starred in a recurring capacity, but was upgraded to a main cast member starting with the second season. Carbonell also directed three episodes of the series. In 2014, he guest starred on the CBS drama series
Person of Interest in the episode "Most Likely to...", and on the CBS political drama series
The Good Wife in the episode "The Deep Web". That same year, he began recurring as Raymond Navaro in
NBC's espionage thriller series
State of Affairs. In 2017, Carbonell directed the episode "Apple" of the ABC drama series
The Good Doctor, starring his
Bates Motel co-star Highmore. In 2024, he appeared as Rodrigues in the FX series
Shōgun, winning the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role. ==Personal life==