[4] Before becoming an actor, McHale joined the American four-member boy band NLT, which stands for "Not Like Them" as one of two lead singers.

[7] In 2015, McHale, Chris Moy, and Justin Thorne co-wrote the song "Heartless" which was featured on the latter's debut EP The Heartbreaker.

[13] In 2021, McHale (with Chris Moy, Shelby Rabara, Justin Thorne, and Jenna Ushkowitz) began production on a musical children's show called The AlphaBeatZ.

In 2007, McHale made a guest appearance on NBC's comedy series The Office in the season four episode "Launch Party", portraying a pizza delivery boy who is taken hostage by Michael Scott (Steve Carell).

In 2008, McHale guest starred in two episodes of HBO's dark fantasy drama series True Blood, appearing as Neil Jones, a coroner's assistant.

[17] In January 2014, it was reported that McHale would host a comedy panel show, Virtually Famous, for the British digital television channel E4.

[18] The show features comedian Seann Walsh and radio presenter Chris Stark as series regulars and team captains.

[19] On February 24, 2014, it was announced that McHale had signed on to play a supporting role in the Kathy Bates and Dustin Hoffman led independent film Boychoir.

[23] In April 2016, McHale joined the cast of Dustin Lance Black's drama miniseries When We Rise as AIDS activist Bobbi Campbell.

The song and video were written by the composers of the Broadway and West End musical Six, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss.

[25] On June 3, 2021 Ryan Murphy revealed McHale to be one of four actors starring in the upcoming spin-off series American Horror Stories.

[26] McHale starred alongside Dyllón Burnside of Pose, Charles Melton of Riverdale, and Nico Greetham of The Prom.

McHale played the role of Barry, a member of the fictional social media influencer group "The Bro House", in the fourth episode of the anthology series which was titled "The Naughty List".

The production was originally set to run at Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey from June 4–26, 2022,[28] but was ultimately canceled.

[30] The other hosts included his NLT bandmate and longtime roommate Justin Thorne, songwriter and photographer Brittany Burton, and YouTuber Amy Lynn Thompson.

In 2019 Kevin McHale and former Glee co-star Jenna Ushkowitz launched the podcast Showmance to discuss their on-screen and offline relationship.

[34] In September 2012, McHale and his dog Sophie appeared in a PETA ad campaign, promoting the adoption of shelter animals.

[35] In June 2016, the Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the 2016 Orlando gay nightclub shooting, in which McHale and other celebrities told the stories of the people killed there.