He is best known for his roles in popular 1990s films, including Billy Loomis in Scream (1996), Chris Hooker in The Craft (1996), and Vincent Lopiano in As Good as It Gets (1997).

His mother, Carolyn Elaine Wax (née Rudd), owns the special events marketing agency Sports Management Group, and his father is a restaurateur.

[7] Along with his slight frame, he had poor health as a child, including numerous bouts with pneumonia; he underwent open-heart surgery to repair a defective ventricle.

[2] In his earliest screen appearances, Ulrich was an uncredited extra in films Weekend at Bernie's (1989) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990).

[citation needed] After joining the Atlantic Theater Company as an apprentice, Ulrich performed with the group, which got him noticed by director Stacy Cochran.

That same year, he also appeared in Kevin Spacey's directorial debut Albino Alligator and The Craft alongside Robin Tunney and Neve Campbell.

He was cast that same year to star alongside Campbell again in Wes Craven's hit slasher film Scream as Billy Loomis where, during production, he was accidentally stabbed in the area where he had open-heart surgery.

[9] He starred as Juvenal, a young man with stigmata and healing powers in the Paul Schrader film Touch (1997), and he appeared in Ride with the Devil (1999), an American Civil War drama directed by Ang Lee.

On television, Ulrich starred in the short-lived ABC series Miracles and appeared in TNT's multiple Emmy-nominated miniseries Into the West (2005 in the U.S., 2006 in the UK).

Ulrich is a recurring guest voice actor on the Adult Swim animated stop-motion sketch comedy series Robot Chicken.