| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | The Country Girl | Larry | TV movie |
| 1985 | Hill Street Blues | Bowers | Episode: "Intestinal Fortitude" |
| Braker | Hayes | TV movie |
| 1986 | The Equalizer | Lieutenant Ferraro | Episode: "Breakpoint" |
| Alex: The Life of a Child | Dr. Tom Dolan | TV movie |
| 1987 | Mr. President | Bosdec | Episode: "Armageddon Kinda Sore" |
| CBS Summer Playhouse | Winthrop | Episode: "Doctors Wilde" |
| Hunter | John Edleton | Episode: "Night on Bald Mountain" |
| 1988–1993 | Law | Dave Meyer | 22 episodes |
| 1988 | American Playhouse | Judge Crane | Episode: "The Trial of Bernhard Goetz" |
| Matlock | Ken Pritchard | Episode: "The Hucksters" |
| Beverly Hills Buntz | Joe Volker | Episode: "Buntz of the Desert" |
| 21 Jump Street | Jim Crawford | Episode: "Brother Hanson & the Miracle of Renner's Pond" |
| CBS Schoolbreak Special | Stan Pallon | Episode: "Gambler" |
| Almost Grown | Giardello | Episode: "Ghost Town |
| 1989 | Free Spirit | Bill / Mr. Flynn | Episode: "The Bosses Are Coming" |
| Major Dad | Buzz | Episode: "Rescue Mission" |
| The Edge | Paulie | Episode: "Professional Man" |
| 1990 | Grand | Robert | Episode: "The Healing" |
| 1990, 1997 | Roseanne | Dr. Rudmen / Principal Hiller | 3 episodes |
| 1990–2004 | Law & Order | Captain Donald Cragen | Main role (seasons 1–3); guest role (seasons 5, 10, 15) |
| 1994 | Hardball | Ernest 'Happy' Talbot | 9 episodes |
| Wings | Bob (air traffic controller) | Episode: "Insanity Claus" |
| 1995 | Ellen | Mr. Woodruff | Episode: "$5,000" |
| The John Larroquette Show | Winters Lennox | Episode: "Love on the Line" |
| 1996 | Champs | Ernie | Episode: "It's Must Have Been Gridlock" |
| 1997 | Michael Hayes | Carnap | Episode: "The Confidence Man" |
| Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Bob Gordon | Episode: "Cat Showdown" |
| Total Security | Morris Silver | Episode: "Dental Men Prefer Blondes" |
| NYPD Blue | Gary Hogan | Episode: "Sheedy Dealings" |
| A Nightmare Come True | Det. Ron Shaye | TV movie |
| 1997–1999 | Smart Guy | Coach Gerber | 6 episodes |
| 1998 | The Pretender | Don Larson | Episode: "Crash" |
| From the Earth to the Moon | Robert Seamans | 2 episodes |
| The Practice | Father Michael Ryan | Episode: "Duty Bound" |
| The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer | Abraham Lincoln | 6 episodes |
| Little Girl Fly Away | Chief Gelbart | TV movie |
| The Pentagon Wars | Maj. Gen. Bob Braden |
| Exiled: A Law & Order Movie | Captain Donald Cragen |
| 1999–2025 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Main role (seasons 1–15); guest role (seasons 16, 23, 27) |
| 2000 | Strange World | Det. Walter Nash | Episode: "Age of Reason" |
| 2002 | Law: The Movie | Dave Meyer | TV movie |
| 2014 | Captain Blackout | Jimmy Black |
| 2015 | Under the Dome | Colonel Walker | Episode: "The Enemy Within" |
| 2018 | Disillusioned | Jeb | TV movie |
| 2022–2024 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Donald Cragen | 4 episodes |