Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Murciano attended Christopher Columbus High School and then Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He originally studied at New England School of Law in Boston for a time, but ultimately decided to pursue an acting career and left. He moved to Los Angeles, and began his career, making his feature film debut in the 1997 action film Speed 2: Cruise Control, which starred Sandra Bullock.
In 2000, Murciano appeared in the film Traffic. In 2001, he starred as Francesco Torres on the short-lived MTV soap opera Spyder Games. That same year, he appeared in Black Hawk Down. It was there that he met Jerry Bruckheimer, leading to him being offered a starring role as Danny Taylor in the CBS mystery drama Without a Trace. The series centered around a missing persons unit of the FBI in New York City. The show ran for seven seasons from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. This role earned him two nominations from the ALMA Award in 2008 and in 2009.
In 2006, People magazine ranked him number seven in its annual list of "The Sexiest Men Alive".
In October 2009, Murciano appeared in the CBS police procedural drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in season 10: episode 4 titled "Coup de Gráce" (French for "stroke of mercy"), as Det. Carlos Moreno from the LVPD Vice Division.
In April 2011, Murciano had a recurring role in the CBS police procedural drama NCIS, as CIA Agent Ray "CI-Ray" Cruz appearing in season 8: episode 20 titled "Two-Faced" and the eighth-season finale titled "Pyramid". In January 2012, he made his final appearance on the show in season 9: episode 13 titled "A Desperate Man".
In October 2012, Murciano had a recurring role in the short-lived ABC supernatural/horror drama 666 Park Avenue, as Dr. Scott Evans, appearing in the fifth episode titled "A Crowd of Demons", the sixth episode titled "Diabolic" and the seventh episode titled "Downward Spiral".
Murciano co-starred in the 3-D science fiction film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the 2014 sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Plays in Starz original series Power as Felipe Lobos.
In 2015, Marciano began a role as a series regular as Det. Marco Diaz on the Netflix original series Bloodline. He played the role for two seasons until his characters death in the season 2 finale.
In 2017, Marciano had a supporting role in the Netflix original film Bright as a gang member named "Poison".
