Fichtner appeared in the cable miniseries Empire Falls, opposite Paul Newman and Ed Harris. His additional television credits include a starring role on the medical drama series MDs as well as guest roles on series such as The West Wing.

Fichtner's feature credits include the remake of The Longest Yard starring Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, Rodrigo Garcia's Nine Lives, The Chumscrubber and The Moguls opposite Jeff Bridges. Additionally, Fichtner can be seen in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, First Snow, What's the Worst That Could Happen?, Wolfgang Petersen's The Perfect Storm, Drowning Mona, Passion of Mind, Armageddon, Michael Mann's Heat, Contact, Go, The Underneath, Julie Walking Home, Equilibrium, The Settlement and Kevin Spacey's directorial debut, Albino Alligator.

As a member of the Circle Repertory Theater, Fichtner won critical acclaim for his role in The Fiery Furnace, directed by Norman Rene. He has also appeared on stage in Raft of Medusa at the Minetta Lane Theater, The Years at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Clothes for a Summer Hotel at the Williamstown Theatre and Machinal at Joseph Papp's Public Theater.