Clarke played "Red" Hamilton in the 2009 film Public Enemies. In April 2010, he was cast in the thriller film Texas Killing Fields. He also played Detective Jarek Wysocki in the 2011 Fox series The Chicago Code and CIA interrogator Dan in the 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty. Clarke played a major role in the 2012 crime film Lawless. He played George Wilson in the 2013 remake of The Great Gatsby. Also, in 2013, he played ruthless terrorist leader Emil Stenz in White House Down. He played Malcolm in the 2014 film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. In 2015's Terminator Genisys, Clarke portrayed John Connor, and the film grossed over $440 million worldwide.