For much of his early career, he played characters with thick Hispanic accents, and was so convincing that people thought it was how he actually sounded. One of his first obstacles in Hollywood was convincing them that in reality he didn't have an accent and that he is capable of doing broader roles. In 2000, Carbonell made his debut as a Screenwriter with the comedy film Attention Shoppers, in which he also starred as Enrique Suarez, the lead role. He has since had recurring roles on Resurrection Blvd., The Tick, Kim Possible (as the voice of Señor Senior Jr.), Century City, Strong Medicine, and Cold Case. He also guest starred on Scrubs (in the episode "My Moment of Un-Truth"), House (in the episode "Cursed"), Monk (in the episode "Mr. Monk Gets Married"), and Day Break (in the episode "What If He Can Change the Day?"). In 2006, he appeared alongside his Future Lost co-star Matthew Fox, as Assassin Pasquale Acosta, in the film Smokin' Aces.