[2] In Montreal, Elman began performing in plays such as The Children's Hour and Annie Get Your Gun before landing his first roles in TV (Are You Afraid of the Dark?)

He was part of the ensemble cast of the film Shattered Glass opposite Hayden Christensen and Peter Sarsgaard, and has guest-starred on numerous popular series including Crossing Jordan, Criminal Minds, Without a Trace, CSI: NY and The Closer.

Recent roles include starring opposite Armand Assante in California Dreaming which won the Un Certain Regard award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival; portraying a young Sigmund Freud, again opposite Assante and Ben Cross, in When Nietzsche Wept; and on the small screen, where he improvised with Larry David in HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

In April 2010, Elman appeared on the soap opera The Young and the Restless as Jamie Peterson.

Elman and Eli Batalion direct and act in YidLife Crisis, a series of short comedy sketches about two 30-something Jewish friends.