[The writers] were always trying what to do with this guy [...] There were so many characters. Most of us [cast] were on the stage at the same time [...] and seemed [like] everybody was kind of vying for their moment in the sun. A couple of times [actor] Tony Danza, [portrayer of boxer Tony Banta], and I changed lines at the director's or producers' requests [...] They'd do retooling and restructuring, and while it was not always pleasant at times, you can sort of see from this distance that everything worked out for the best [...]
Carver appeared in minor roles, including his uncredited debut in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy. His first major appearance was the 1973 drama film Time to Run as Jeff Cole, an environment enthusiast who attempts to sabotage his father's (Ed Nelson) nuclear power plant. He portrayed Jeffrey DeVito, gangster husband of Cathy Shumway (Debralee Scott), in the 1977–78 television series Forever Fernwood. He also made guest appearances in other television series, like Emergency!, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Waltons, and appeared in stage plays and in made-for-television films during the 1970s.
In the first season (1978–79) of the television sitcom series Taxi, Carver portrayed John Burns, "a [naïve student] who lands in the taxi Business more by default than design." According to the book Happier Days (2006), although the book praised his acting, Carver's character John was not well-developed, even with his wedding subplot. Carver said,
His character was written out and then replaced in the second season (1979–80) by an aging hippie and recovering drug addict Reverend Jim "Iggy" Ignatowski, portrayed by actor Christopher Lloyd. Lloyd initially appeared as Reverend Jim in an episode of season 1, "Paper Marriage" (1978). Lloyd reprised the role of Jim in the season 2 episode, "Reverend Jim: A Space Odyssey" (1979), and became a cast member in subsequent seasons.
Carver made appearances in other films and television programs thereafter. He made a guest appearance as the fiancé of "a girl from West Virginia" (Loni Anderson) in one segment of the two-part 1980 episode, which was filmed in 1979, of the television series The Love Boat, alongside other guest stars of the similar segment Donny Osmond and Rich Little. He portrayed a killer in the 1980 made-for-television film Detour to Terror. He portrayed Lieutenant Vaughn Beuhler, the "doltish [lieutenant and the station's] program Director," one of principal characters in the 1980 sitcom The Six O'Clock Follies, set in the television station in Saigon, South Vietnam, in 1967 (during the Vietnam War). He also appeared in The Norm Show and Malcolm in the Middle in late 1990s and 2000s. Carver portrayed Mr. Bankside in the 2007 film There Will Be Blood.
