Joe headlined a series of original films for the A&E Network, based on Robert Parker's popular Spenser detective novels. The first, Small Vices, premiered in summer of 1999 with the second, Thin Air, following in fall 2000.  His last entry to the Spenser series, Walking Shadow, continues to play on A&E. Due to budget cuts A&E has no future plans for more in this series.

Spring of 2001 found Joe in Venice, Italy for several weeks filming the feature, LAGOON.  2001 was a busy year for Joe. He finished production on the SHOWTIME film, Men Vs. Women! that co-starred Paul Reiser, Christine Lahti and Glenn Headly, directed by Chazz Palmenteri. He also starred as Justice Joseph Novelli in the CBS series First Monday.

Summer 2002 found Joe and his daughter Gina in his home town of Chicago, filming the wonderful slice of life film, Uncle Nino. Released in 2003, this gem played at selected theaters, including a run at a Grand Rapids, Michigan theater that lasted for 43 weeks! 

In 2002, Joe starred in the Italian film Pontormo, playing the role of Jacopo Pontormo, an Italian Renaissance painter (b. 1494, d. 1557, Firenze).  Joe also co-starred in Stateside, a drama based on a true story starring Johnathan Tucker and co-starring Val Kilmer, Carrie Fisher, Penny Marshall and Diane Venora.

Joe starred as police chief Will Girardi in the popular and critically acclaimed CBS series, Joan of Arcadia.  Now available on DVD, Joan received several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations during its two season run from 2003-2005.

In 2005 Joe co-starred in The Kid and I with Tom Arnold. In fall 2005, Joe co-starred in Nine Lives, a film by Rodrigo Garcia that made both Ebert’s and Roeper’s Top 10 List for that year. Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life. Accepted in Sundance in 2005, the film also stars Glenn Close, Amy Brenneman, Holly Hunter, Dakota Fanning, Sissy Spacek and Kathy Baker.

In 2006 Joe was involved in several independent film projects including Elvis and Annabelle, West of Brooklyn and Lonely Street. He also costarred with Debora Messing in The Starter Wife by Gigi Levangie Grazer for the USA network.  For this, Joe was nominated for an Emmy in the category of best  supporting actor.  Now as 2007 comes to a close Joe finds himself back on CBS  as the new star of Criminal Minds.