Byrd began acting as a child, appearing as Arthur in the film
My Little Girl in 1986. His subsequent film appearances include
Dead Man, Demon Island, Sleepers, 8 Mile, Lift and
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid. He had the lead role in
Confess, for which he won the Break-Out Performance Award at the 2006
Method Fest Independent Film Festival. He also collaborated with longtime friends Will Fuller, Jerry Della Salla and Clay Von Thomas for a film titled
The Barracks. Byrd had a guest spot on the
Nickelodeon series
Are You Afraid of the Dark?, playing a teenage prankster named Weeds in the episode "The Tale of the Super Specs." He has also made appearances on
The Cosby Show,
Beverly Hills, 90210 as Robinson Ashe III,
Touched by an Angel and its spinoff
Promised Land as Lawrence "L.T." Taggert, a troubled teen struggling with gang related drug and violence issues. He starred in the
Disney film
Perfect Harmony, which explores the racial tensions between African-American and white populations in South Carolina. His character, Landy Allen, is the grandson of an African-American caretaker at an all-white private academy. His character's musical talent attracts the interest of a student named Taylor Bradshaw (played by
Justin Whalin), who sets out to explore the music and lives of African-American residents, knowing his actions could result in expulsion from the academy and rejection by his fellow white students and friends. In 1993, Byrd appeared as Walter Haines on
Ghostwriter. He portrayed the comical but defiant Oliver Cross on
Chris Cross, which won an award for "Best Children's Series" in 1994. The series aired on the
Showtime from 1994 to 1995. He guest starred on
NYPD Blue, had a minor role on
Heroes and a recurring role as Sidney on
Crossing Jordan, which aired on
NBC from 2001 to 2007. He has also made appearances on
Two and a Half Men and the
Syfy series
Eureka
as Dr. Michael Clark in the episode "Worst Case Scenario." He played a detective on
American Horror Story: Asylum. Byrd had a recurring role as
Clark Edison on
Bones
. Starting with season eight, his character is hired as a full-time staff forensic anthropologist by Jeffersonian Forensic Division head Dr. Camille Saroyan (played by
Tamara Taylor). He was credited as a guest star during his tenure on the show. He also played Andy Diggle on
The CW series
Arrow. In 2014, he was hired by video game company
Electronic Arts to play Marcus "Boomer" Boone in
Battlefield Hardline. He voiced Delmont "Del" Walker in
Gears of War 4 and
Gears 5, as well as Zander Freemaker on
Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures in 2016 and 2017. ==Personal life==