Bauer's first film appearance was in Snow White: A Tale of Terror, with Sigourney Weaver, Sam Neill, and Monica Keena. Soon after, Bauer played schoolteacher/pedophile Lloyd Gettys in the 1997 film The Devil's Advocate. He played prisoner NB9674932-65 Ivan Dubov in the 1998 action film Face/Off, where he met Nicolas Cage. He then appeared as the masked character 'Machine' in the 1999 film 8mm also starring Cage. He starred as fetish Photographer Irving Klaw in the 2005 Bettie Page biopic The Notorious Bettie Page, and as famous author Ken Kesey in a 2007 Neal Cassady biopic. Bauer played a small role in the 2005 Jim Jarmusch film, Broken Flowers. He was featured in the movie The Conspirator, as a fellow officer following Abraham Lincoln's assassination, and played a minor role in Flags of Our Fathers. In 2015, Bauer played the role of 'Pa' in Disney's Tomorrowland. He also appeared in "Money Monster" as Lt. Nelson, and played Larry Rooney in "Sully".