His roles include 300, A History of Violence, The Fountain, Secretary, Shoot 'Em Up, Life with Billy, One Dead Indian, Beverly Hills Cop III.

Since 2005, he has appeared as Captain Healy, Massachusetts State Police Homicide Division Commander, in the first eight of the Jesse Stone series, which are based on the novels of Robert B. Parker.

[3] He appeared in the pilot of Sabbatical, voiced the villain The Shade in Justice League, and portrayed Hollis Mason, the first Nite Owl, in the film adaptation of Watchmen.

[4] McHattie had a memorable and well-received[5] appearance in the acclaimed sixth-season episode "In the Pale Moonlight" of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as the acerbic and skeptical Romulan Senator Vreenak who is the target of a Federation false flag operation to deceive the neutral Romulan Empire into declaring war on the Dominion.

upon the discovery of a forged data rod has been ranked amongst the greatest moments in Star Trek[9] and spawned a popular and enduring online meme.