McLaughlin joined the U.S. Army in 2002. He was part of the 3rd Infantry Division. His unit was one of the first to enter Baghdad. NBC reporter David Bloom died while embedded with McLaughlin's unit. He served in Iraq and was critically injured. For his efforts, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal and the Army Achievement Medal four times for his Service during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was featured in Soldier of Fortune magazine. He is mentioned in David Zucchino's 2004 book Thunder Run.

In 2004, McLaughlin married Stephanie McLaughlin. They have four children.

After the success of his first movie, McLaughlin made cameo appearances in movies such as The Day the Earth Stood Still and Cloverfield. He appeared in episodes of The Unit and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He got his first major role on TV in 2009, when he was cast in the television remake of the Oscar-winning film, Crash. In the following years he made many appearances on television. In 2011, he was cast in Warrior which was followed by a supporting role in Safe House.

In February 2013, McLaughlin was cast as the male lead in Believe, a television pilot by Alfonso Cuarón which was picked to series in May 2013. The show premiered on NBC in March, 2014.

In March 2015, McLaughlin was cast in the role of Ryan Booth on the television pilot, Quantico which was picked to series in May. The show premiered on the ABC network in September, 2015.