1997–2002: Early roles in 2010 Hale obtained his
Screen Actors Guild card when he appeared in a commercial for
MCI Inc., though it never aired. He made minor guest appearances in TV shows such as ''
Dawson's Creek, The Sopranos, and Sex and the City''.
2003–13: Arrested Development From 2003 to 2006, and also in 2013, 2018, and 2019, Hale found success in television cast as
Buster Bluth, the hapless, neurotic son on
Arrested Development. Hale appeared in a season ten episode of
MADtv in a parody of
Cops, where two British robbers try to stop a domestic dispute among the royal family. In March 2006, Hale was cast in a co-starring role as the video store owner Simon in the NBC
sitcom Andy Barker, P.I., starring
Andy Richter and co-created by
Conan O'Brien. He appeared in minor roles in
Stranger Than Fiction and
Because I Said So. He was the voice of Furlough in
The Tale of Despereaux, an animated children's film released in 2008. Hale had a recurring role as Emmett on
Chuck, beginning in October 2008 and ending in January 2010. His departure made room for his starring role on the NBC web series
Ctrl, which premiered on July 13, 2009. He appeared in a cameo in the second episode of the first season of
Showtime's dramedy
United States of Tara, as English teacher Oral Gershenoff. He joined the cast of
Numbers in 2009, in the recurring role of Professor Russell Lazlo.
2012–19: Veep and acclaim in 2019 In 2012, Hale starred in the drama comedy
Not That Funny. He guest-starred on NBC's
Law & Order: SVU as Rick Simms, a teacher who is fired from his job after being accused of inappropriate behavior with a student. In 2012, Hale was cast in the HBO comedy
Veep as Gary Walsh, the personal assistant to
Vice President-turned-President
Selina Meyer (portrayed by
Julia Louis-Dreyfus). On September 22, 2013, Hale won a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work in the show's second season. This was his first major award. He earned his second nomination in 2014, but lost the award to
Ty Burrell. Hale won his second
Primetime Emmy Award with his third nomination in 2015, in the same ceremony where
Veep won its first
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. In 2017, Hale hosted the
9th Annual Shorty Awards at the PlayStation Theater in New York City. In 2018, Hale played the role of Jerome Squalor on the second season of the
Netflix comedy drama series
A Series of Unfortunate Events, appearing in episodes adapting
The Ersatz Elevator and
The Penultimate Peril. He appeared in two more episodes of the series. In 2019, he voiced
Forky in
Pixar's
Toy Story 4 and reprised the role again in the 10-episode short-form educational series
Forky Asks a Question.
2020–present In 2022, Hale played Jefry Traske and his descendant Reverend Traske in
Hocus Pocus 2, a sequel to 1993's
Hocus Pocus. In 2024, Hale voiced Fear in Pixar's
Inside Out 2, replacing
Bill Hader who voiced the character in
the first film. In 2025 he was named alumnus of the year by his alma mater, Samford University, and received an honorary
Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the university on December 13, 2025. ==Personal life==