He guest-starred in the television series Numbers, CSI: Miami, and Cold Case,[7] with voice-over work[8] for the Scream Awards, Animal Planet and the video games Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, and Iron Man.

[12] In July 2013, McGowan joined the cast of the Universal Pictures feature film Dracula Untold, playing Shkelgim, a mysterious Romani.

[13] In January 2014, McGowan joined the cast of the Starz dramatic adventure TV series Black Sails, playing a fictionalized version of the real-life 18th-century English pirate Charles Vane.

[15] In January 2017, McGowan joined the cast of the ABC TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., playing villain Anton Ivanov / The Superior.

[16] In March 2018, McGowan joined the cast of L.A.'s Finest, a TV series based on the Bad Boys franchise, alongside Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union.