He is best known for his starring roles on television as Jason Matthews in North Shore, Nathaniel "Baze" Bazile in Life Unexpected, and Henry Butler in Ringer.

[9] He left Reno in the early 1990s to attend Robert Louis Stevenson boarding school in Pebble Beach, California.

[1] Early in his career, Polaha appeared in theatre productions, including Ragtime Revue at Lincoln Center, The Long Days Journey Into Night at the Roundabout Theater, Bread & Butter at Provincetown Playhouse, and Uncle Vanya at the Stella Adler Conservatory.

[1] He had roles in television series Angel, Roswell, Birds of Prey, Tru Calling, House, CSI: Miami, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Bones and Close to Home.

In 2010, he began portraying Nate Bazile, a bar owner who discovers he has a teenage daughter Lux Cassidy (Britt Robertson), on the teen drama series Life Unexpected.

He appeared in the movies Devil's Knot (2013), Back in the Day (2014), Where Hope Grows (2015) and Aberrant (original name: Vineland) (2016).

Where Hope Grows centers on the friendship between Calvin (portrayed by Polaha), a former professional baseball player and Produce (David DeSanctis), a young man with Down syndrome.

"[10] In 2018, he appeared in six episodes of the thriller television series Condor and starred in two films, Beneath the Leaves and Bachelor Lions.

[38][39] Polaha portrayed Michael Truett in the Christian drama film Run the Race (2019), released on February 22, 2019 by Roadside Attractions.

[42][43][44] Polaha had a minor but notable role as Handsome Man in the superhero film Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) directed by Patty Jenkins.

[45][46][47] On July 26, 2019, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Polaha will appear in Hallmark Channel's Christmas-themed television film Double Holiday (2019) opposite Carly Pope.

[48] In 2020, he had a small role as Courthouse Reporter 2 in Hulu's drama miniseries Little Fires Everywhere starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.

[54] Also in 2023 he had a leading role in the Hallmark Christmas movie "A Biltmore Christmas" opposite Bethany Joy Lenz, playing Jack Huston, an actor from the 1940s, who encounters present time Lucy Collins, played by Lenz, who gets transported to the 1940s through a magical hourglass at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC.

[56][57] The first in the From Kona with Love book series, titled Moments Like This, is set in Hawaii and centers on a young woman looking to find herself after losing her career and relationship.

Even Audrey Hepburn was somebody who – wouldn't it be great to have these amazing successes as an actor so that aspect of your life was a given, but then the stories also include how kind they are.