He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Staff Sergeant Bob Barnes in Platoon (1986).

Other films he appeared in include Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Dogs of War (1980), The Big Chill (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), Betrayed (1988), The Field (1990), Sniper (1992), Gettysburg (1993), The Substitute (1996), Training Day (2001), and Inception (2010).

In 1977, he had a small role as the killer of the lead character (played by Diane Keaton) in Looking for Mr. Goodbar based on the murder of schoolteacher Roseann Quinn.

Berenger starred in several significant films in the 1980s, including The Big Chill (1983), Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Rustlers' Rhapsody (1985), Platoon (1986), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), Shoot to Kill (1988), and Major League (1989).

One of his most notable television appearances was on Cheers in its last season as Rebecca Howe's blue collar-plumber love interest, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series".

He starred in the mini-series version of Stephen King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes, as a celebrated author who realizes the warped painting he recently purchased is alive with illustrations of impending doom for him in "The Road Virus Heads North".

Berenger stars opposite Armand Assante and Busta Rhymes in the dramatic thriller Breaking Point, which had a limited release starting in December 2009.

On September 23, 2012, Berenger won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for the role.