Raul would go on to appear in other musicals such as Sunday in the Park with George as well as Merrily We Roll Along performed at the Kennedy Center. He also starred in the Leap of Faith stage musical in the role of the "Reverend" Jonas Nightingale. His performance in Speed-the-Plow earned him a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Play, making him only the second performer to be nominated in all four acting categories a performer is eligible for at the Tonys. Esparza is also famous for his role of Caractacus Potts in the Broadway musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Television Acting

Esparza made his television acting debut playing a small role in an episode of the TV film Spin City in 1977. Esparza also had a recurring role on the TV show Pushing Daisies as traveling salesman Alfredo Aldarisiohe. In 2012, Esparza landed a recurring role for the popular and long-running series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Ahead of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit's 14th season, Warren Leight approached Esparza about playing the show's next Assistant District Attorney.

Although the pair had enjoyed working together on the short-lived 2012 Broadway production Leap of Faith, Esparza was initially hesitant about taking the role. He was, however, eventually convinced and played the role of the Manhattan Assistant District Attorney, Rafael Barba. Esparza went on to appear in a total of eleven episodes during the 14th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. His role in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit was not his first Law & Order role, however, as he had previously portrayed an assistant district attorney in a 2009 episode of Law and Order, Criminal Intent, and a suspect in a 2010 episode of the original Law and Order.

He also did voice-over work for the audiobook of Under the Dome for the author Stephen King. Esparza appeared with Desi Arnaz Jr. and Lucie Arnaz in an event honoring Desi Arnaz and his Orchestra. Esparza also appeared in Wes Craven's My Soul to Take.