In 2000, Bartlett relocated to the United States. His first big break there came a few years later, when he was cast as a guest star in the HBO series Sex and the City. He also played D.K., John Crichton's best friend, in four episodes of the SciFi Channel series Farscape. In 2006, Bartlett toured with Hugh Jackman in the Australian touring company production of Jackman's Broadway hit The Boy From Oz.
From March 2007 until the show's cancellation in September 2009, Bartlett was a cast member on the CBS daytime soap opera Guiding Light, where he played Cyrus Foley. He also starred as Dominic "Dom" Basaluzzo in the HBO comedy-drama series, Looking from 2014 to 2015, and then reprised his role in the series finale television film, Looking: The Movie in 2016.
