Gould's breakthrough role was in the film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

His mother, Lucille (née Raver), sold artificial flowers to beauty shops, and his father, Bernard Goldstein, worked in the garment business as a textiles buyer.

He followed this with small parts in successful productions such as the Betty Comden and Adolph Green musical Say, Darling (1958–59) featuring Robert Morse, David Wayne, and Vivian Blaine.

[11] Gould made his feature film debut in the William Dieterle comedy Quick, Let's Get Married (1964) starring Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, and Barbara Eden.

That same year, Gould reached a new level of prominence playing one of the four leads in Paul Mazursky's zeitgeisty social comedy Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice starring alongside Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, and Dyan Cannon.

In Roger Ebert's review in the Chicago Sun-Times, he wrote that "Gould emerges, not so much a star, more of a "personality," like Severn Darden or Estelle Parsons.

"[13] For his performance, Gould earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor losing to Gig Young for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

[16] His first film released after Bob & Carol was the wartime satire M*A*S*H (1970), directed by Robert Altman, where Gould played Trapper John McIntyre.

"[18] With significant successes of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and M*A*S*H, Gould appeared on the cover of Time magazine that year, where he was described as a "star for an uptight age".

[22] Gould's next efforts would turn mixed results, including his decision to buy the rights for Little Murders with an eye to producing and reprising his lead role in a film adaptation.

[21][24] Gould and his producing partner helped make Woody Allen's satirical slapstick comedy Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), later selling it to United Artists.

He was reportedly offered the lead role in Pocket Money (1972), but turned it down because he did not want to work with director Stuart Rosenberg again after his experience making Move.

By comparison, Gould's performance was more naturalistic, with the screenplay by Leigh Brackett (who had previously adapted The Big Sleep for Howard Hawks and Bogart) updating the setting to contemporary Los Angeles.

[28] Alan R. Howard of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "The eccentric casting of Elliott Gould is altogether successful and allows the filmmakers to embrace the detective genre affectionately, transforming it into a dreamlike excursion through modern Los Angeles.

"[29] The following year, Gould reunited with Robert Altman for the film, California Split (1974), an acclaimed[30][31] gambling dramedy that co-starred George Segal.

The ensemble cast included Robert Redford, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Liv Ullmann, and Laurence Olivier.

The following year Gould returned to mainstream success with Capricorn One (1978), directed by Peter Hyams and starring James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O. J.

After making Capricorn One Gould was announced to direct A New Life from a novel by Bernard Malamud with Robert Altman producing but the film was not made.

The film was directed and written by Jeremy Kagan and starred Carl Lumbly, Peter Boyle, Robert Loggia, Martin Sheen, and Billy Zane.

During the 1990s, Gould continued starring in guest roles in shows such as L.A. Law, Moon Over Miami, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Diagnosis: Murder.

He also became known to a new generation of viewers thanks to a recurring role as Jack Geller, the father of Courtney Cox's and David Schwimmer's characters Monica and Ross, on the NBC sitcom Friends, first appearing in 1994 and in twenty total episodes over the course of the show's run.

The film starred George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, and Carl Reiner.

The cast included Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, and Jennifer Ehle.

The following year he appeared in Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' romantic comedy-drama film Ruby Sparks (2012) starring Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan.

Gould appeared in guest starring roles in detective shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2010) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2012).

He also appeared in a recurring role as Ezra Goldman in the Showtime crime series Ray Donovan (2013–2016) starring Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight.