McCarthy also played Rory Thompson in Samson Films' Belonging to Laura, a modern-day adaptation of Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan directed by Karl Golden, which was nominated for Best Single Drama at the IFTA Awards.
The production received widespread critical acclaim and subsequently transferred to New York and Los Angeles with McCarthy reprising their role in both cities.
Shortly after, they played George Bailey in the UK premiere of It's a Wonderful Life at Penge's Bridgehouse Theatre, directed by Guy Retallack.
McCarthy began their association with the Northern Ireland Children's Hospice in October 2007 when they overcame their fear of heights by leading a fundraising abseil event, in which they had to climb down Belfast's Europa Hotel.
[citation needed] In January 2010, McCarthy led the Belfast4Haiti 5K run in their home city with Olympic gold medallist Dame Mary Peters.