Producer Sydney Box thought Reed had star potential and promoted him to leading man status for Daybreak, a film noir which Box produced and co-wrote with his wife Muriel; Reed played an employee of Eric Portman's character Eddie who lusts after Eddie's wife, played by Ann Todd.

[6] Box then cast Reed opposite Patricia Roc as one of the leads in a film made immediately after but released before Daybreak: The Brothers (1947).

Reed had more of a support role in The Lost People (1949), co-directed by Muriel Box, and Madness of the Heart (1949), starring Margaret Lockwood.

He returned to Britain to play the villain opposite Yvonne de Carlo and Rock Hudson in the Anglo-American production Sea Devils (1953); he was also part of the ensemble cast of Ealing Studios' The Square Ring (1953).

It ran for two seasons in syndication, and was the first television series made on location in Hawaii; the first nine episodes were shot on Maui before production moved to southern California.

[9] Reed had support roles in films like The Notorious Landlady (1962) and appeared as a guest star in television series such as Bonanza, Kraft Mystery Theater, The Beachcomber, The Lloyd Bridges Show, The Great Adventure, Perry Mason and Daniel Boone.