Burrell also had starring roles on the television series Out of Practice (2005–2006) and Back to You (2007–2008), and acted in films such as Evolution, Black Hawk Down (Both 2001), Dawn of the Dead (2004), The Incredible Hulk (2008), and Muppets Most Wanted (2014).

[7] He is mostly of English and German descent, though he discovered via Finding Your Roots that he is also of 1/16th African American ancestry through his great-great-grandmother, a formerly enslaved girl from Tennessee who became a homesteader in Oregon.

He subsequently appeared in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, and in several stage roles (such as 2000's Broadway production of Macbeth, and the off-Broadway plays Corners, The Blue Demon, Burn This, and Show People).

After that, Burrell was cast as Oliver Barnes, a shallow but well meaning plastic surgeon, on the CBS sitcom Out of Practice (2005–06), also created by screenwriter Christopher Lloyd.

On the show, created by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, Burrell played a field reporter (alongside Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton).

In the 2008 Marvel film adaptation of the comic The Incredible Hulk Burrell played Leonard Samson (without superpowers) who had a short relationship with Betty Ross.

He had a lead role as Realtor Phil Dunphy in the acclaimed ABC situation comedy Modern Family which was also created by Christopher Lloyd and Steve Levitan.

[24] When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Salt Lake City's bars and restaurants in March 2020, Burrell and his wife used $100,000 of their own money to create Tip Your Server, a crowd-sourced online fund to help out-of-work wait staff in Utah, where they had previously kept their main residence.

[29] Burrell is a self-described lifelong fan of the Oregon Ducks, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Mets, and the Los Angeles Rams.