Donovan portrayed Joshua, the boyfriend of Rachel Green, on several episodes of Season 4 of Friends. He later portrayed the priest-son of a large Catholic family in Trinity (1998). He has appeared as a guest star in several television series, such as Magnum, P.I. (1986), The Guardian (2001), Mister Sterling (2003), Exposed (2003), and The O.C. (2003), where he appeared as Jimmy Cooper. From 2007-10, he portrayed Tom Shayes on Damages. In 2005, Donovan began directing episodic television when he directed an episode of The O.C.. In 2007 he guest starred on a season 6 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In 2009, he directed an episode of the sixth season of Medium. He also directed two episodes of Damages in its third season and an episode of Nip/Tuck in its sixth season. In 2010, Donovan directed the third episode in the sixth season of Weeds, the tenth episode in the fourth season of Gossip Girl, the fourth episode of the fifth season, and one episode of Damages from the third season. In 2011, Donovan directed the Valentine's Day-themed episode of Glee and the episode "I Kissed a Girl" in the third season. In March 2010, he joined the cast of No Ordinary Family. However, after only one season, the series was cancelled. Recently, Donovan guest appeared in the series, Red Oaks.