Green guest-starred on the season 7 finale of CSI: Miami as Anthony Green. Green was cast in The CW's new drama pilot Body Politic, along with Minka Kelly, Gabrielle Union, and Jason Dohring. The series was not picked up for fall 2009. Green said in an interview that he was co-producing a big screen adaptation of Fathom, starring Megan Fox. On September 27, 2009, Green made a guest appearance on the television series Saturday Night Live in a skit involving girlfriend (now wife) Megan Fox. In the skit Green played a version of the Transformer Bumblebee in which Bumblebee is merely a man wearing a Bumblebee mask. Green was cast as Clay in One Tree Hill's seventh season. Green then left the cast because of scheduling conflicts and the role was then given to Robert Buckley; Green instead starred as superhero Callan in the Patrick Durham-directed movie Cross, which was released to DVD and download in May 2011.
In 2009, Green was cast as John Corben/Metallo in Smallville. He appeared in three episodes in the ninth season between 2009 and 2010, the first being the ninth-season premiere episode "Savior". The character is a war-time reporter, similar to the Silver Age John Corben. As a back-story for this version, he had been recently stationed in Afghanistan. When he meets Lois Lane, he expresses his distaste for vigilantes, particularly "the Blur" (Clark Kent). Corben is "reactivated" in the episode "Upgrade" after Tess' scientists are able to correct the initial design flaw in the Kryptonite heart that causes an adrenal overload and resulting psychosis. He reappears in the season finale episode "Prophecy" as a member of Marionette Ventures, with Supergirl assigned as his target. In 2010, Green appeared in a multi-episode story arc on the ABC series Desperate Housewives. He plays Keith Watson, Bree's contractor and lover for the first part of the season.