Since moving to the United States, Thwaites has had major roles in the films Blue Lagoon: The Awakening (2012), Oculus (2013), The Giver (2014), Gods of Egypt (2016), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).

He starred as Dick Grayson / Robin / Nightwing in the DC Universe / HBO Max series Titans from 2018 to 2023.

[3][4][5] He then relocated to Sydney to join the long-running soap opera Home and Away before moving to the United States in 2011/12 to pursue his career in acting.

[13] Shortly after Thwaites moved to Sydney in April 2011, he was given a five-month recurring role of Stu Henderson in the 24th season of Home and Away.

[7] Tristan Swanwick of The Courier-Mail said Thwaites was a "bit too pretty to be a bad-ass River Boy" but that some fake tattoos would balance that impression.

"[5][15] Following Thwaites' relocation to the United States, he signed on to play the male lead in the 2012 television film Blue Lagoon: The Awakening opposite Indiana Evans.

[21] His performance as Russell was well received by Indiewire, which claimed that Thwaites maintained a "credibly frightened demeanor" throughout the film.

Primarily shot in Perth, Kalgoorlie and Melbourne,[23] Thwaites had to audition for the part of JR "up to 10 times before landing the role."

"[24] Thwaites received critical acclaim for his portrayal of JR, with Variety contending that he "makes a suitably keen-eyed, clean-scrubbed lead, retaining a kind of porous naivete even as the character gets his blood up"[25] and The Sydney Morning Herald praising his role as the embattled hero of the plot.

[28] A Maleficent sequel was released in 2019, but Harris Dickinson was recast in Thwaites' role as he was unable to return due to scheduling conflicts.

[47][48] Following Pirates, Thwaites had a leading role in the 2017 Christian film, An Interview with God, portraying a young journalist, Paul Asher.

[49] Thwaites was then cast as Dick Grayson / Robin in the DC Universe series Titans[50] which began airing in 2018.