[1] McCarthy has made over 35 guest star and recurring appearances on television shows such as Elementary, The Good Wife, Madam Secretary, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Ed, Designing Women, Cheers, LA Law, Freddy's Nightmares, Matlock, and In the Heat of the Night.

McCarthy played the father of Wayne (Freddy Geiger) on the short lived CBS show Love Monkey.

McCarthy also portrayed the Nature Documentary Voice in an episode in the first season of the Apple TV+ thriller series Severance.

[8] McCarthy played Bob Freelander in Marvin Hamlisch and Howard Ashman's ill-fated Smile, which opened on Broadway in November 1986.

[18][19] McCarthy created the role of Lola Cola in the premiere of the bluegrass musical, Southern Comfort which opened at the Off-Broadway Public Theater in March 2016.

Some of his notable regional credits include Fagin in Oliver!, the title role in Sweeney Todd, Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, Don Quixote / Miguel de Cervantes in Man of La Mancha, Frank Abagnale, Sr. in Catch Me If You Can, King Arthur in Camelot, Harold Hill in The Music Man, the title role in Sunday in the Park with George, and Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls.