Ironside's other notable roles include Overdog in Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), "Jester" in Top Gun (1986), Richter in Total Recall (1990), and Rasczak in Starship Troopers (1997).

His signature deep voice has been lent to various video games and animated television shows, most notably as Sam Fisher in the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell franchise.

He played the role of a serial killer, Colt Hawker, in the slasher film Visiting Hours (1982) and appeared in 1983 as Miler Crane in The A-Team episode "Taxicab Wars" as well as Overdog McNab in Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone.

Ironside's breakthrough role was as cynical antihero Ham Tyler in the television miniseries V: The Final Battle and its following 19-episode series (1984).

He is also known for his roles in Top Gun (1986) as Naval Aviator Lieutenant Commander Rick "Jester" Heatherly, Extreme Prejudice (1987) as Major Paul Hackett, Watchers (1988) as a conscience-free mutant assassin, and Total Recall (1990) as Richter, the murderous henchman of Ronny Cox's villain Cohaagen.

In 1991, Ironside played the villainous General Katana in the science fiction sequel Highlander II: The Quickening and also starred in the film Chaindance as a small-time crook, unable to make it on the outside, who was paired up with a disabled man.

Ironside starred as Resistance General Hugh Ashdown in Terminator Salvation, reunited with his co-star from The Machinist, Christian Bale.

He signed a five-year deal to portray Captain Jonas Trager in the SpaceWorks Television science-fiction series, Ice Planet but the show was not produced.

He also voiced the role of Ultra Magnus in season 3 of the Transformers Prime Beast Hunters television series in 2013.