1980s

Caruso's first movie appearance was in the 1980 film Getting Wasted as Danny. He credits his role as Topper Daniels, "the cadet who nearly drowned", in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) as what got him noticed.^[9] Caruso then spent most of the decade in supporting roles in films including First Blood (1982), Blue City (1986), China Girl (1987) and Twins (1988).

On television, Caruso had a recurring role as Tommy Mann, leader of the street gang The Shamrocks, in seven episodes of the NBC police drama series Hill Street Blues (1981–83). He portrayed U.S. Olympian James Brendan Connolly in the 1984 miniseries, The First Olympics: Athens 1896, and also appeared in two episodes of the series Crime Story.

Caruso featured in the music video for the song "Voyage, voyage" by the French singer Desireless, released in 1986.

1990s

Caruso had supporting roles as a police officer in the crime films King of New York (1990) and Mad Dog and Glory (1993). While filming 1991's Hudson Hawk, he employed method acting, refusing to talk to anyone on set because his character, Kit-Kat, was mute, having had his tongue bitten off.^[10]

In 1993, Caruso landed his first major role as Detective John Kelly in the police procedural series NYPD Blue, for which he won a Golden Globe Award. TV Guide named him as one of the six new stars to watch in the 1993–1994 season. He made news by leaving the highly rated show the following year (only four episodes into the second season) after failing to obtain the raise he wanted.^[11][12] His decision to leave the series would later be listed in a 2010 issue of TV Guide as #6 on a list of TV's 10 biggest "blunders".^[13]

He was unable to establish himself as a leading man in films. His appearances in the 1995 thrillers Kiss of Death and Jade were met with a negative reception from critics, with both films receiving mixed reviews and poor box-office takings, and Caruso was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star for these two roles.

In 1997, Caruso returned to television as a New York City-based federal prosecutor in the short-lived CBS law drama series Michael Hayes, which aired for one season.

2000s and CSI: Miami

Caruso returned to film with a supporting role as Russell Crowe's mercenary associate in Proof of Life (2000). In 2001, he had a lead role in the cult psychological horror film Session 9, directed by Brad Anderson. Dave Kehr, writing in The New York Times, praises his performance, stating that "it is good to see David Caruso back in action, with a little more technique and a little less ego."^[14]

In 2002, Caruso returned to television in his first successful role since NYPD Blue, starring as police Lieutenant Horatio Caine in the CSI spin-off series CSI: Miami. He was the first actor in the franchise to appear as the same character on three of the five CSI programs. He was known for frequently using one-liners at the beginning of each episode. Many of these include him putting on his trademark sunglasses mid-sentence, then walking off-screen just as the main theme starts. On an episode of the Late Show with David Letterman that aired on March 8, 2007, actor and comedian Jim Carrey professed to being a fan of the show and went on to do an impersonation of Caruso, asking for an "intense close-up" from the camera, speaking in a raspy voice and putting on sunglasses. Caruso later said in an interview with CBS that he was impressed with the impersonation.^[15]

In 2012, CSI: Miami was cancelled after 10 seasons due to a decline in ratings and the climbing cost of production.^[16] Caruso was the only actor to appear in all 232 episodes of the series.

After acting

After CSI: Miami, Caruso quietly retired from acting and became involved in the art business.^[17]

Caruso is founder of DavidCarusoTelevision.tv and LexiconDigital.tv. He is co-owner of Steam on Sunset, a clothing store in South Miami.^[18][19]

Film

Television

Music videos