Reid appeared in over 53 films and television programs from 1953 to 1979. He travelled back to India where his mother and sister resided, and he supposedly died of a heart attack in 1987, and his son was still receiving written correspondence from him in 1986. His death is something of a mystery due to the conflicting dates of death and also because he died in relative obscurity in India.

As an actor, Reid was known for playing thugs, henchmen and brutes, typified by his role as Yen in the film Ferry to Hong Kong (1959) that starred Curd Jürgens and Orson Welles. He played the big pirate in Swiss Family Robinson (1960) and had a memorable role as the mute Mulatto in the Hammer film Captain Clegg (1962). Reid appeared in three James Bond films: as Dr. No's Guard in Dr. No (1962), as a temple guard in Casino Royale (1967), and as Sandor, Roger Moore's opponent in a roof top fight in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Reid also appeared as a henchman in the 1967 Bulldog Drummond film Deadlier Than the Male and as Eye Patch in the 1977 Bond spoof No. 1 of the Secret Service.

Reid attempted to secure the role of Oddjob in Goldfinger (1964). He challenged fellow professional Wrestler Harold "Tosh Togo" Sakata to a wrestling match; the outcome of which would determine who would get the role. As Reid had already appeared in Dr. No, the producers decided to go with Sakata, and the wrestling match did not take place.

He appeared briefly as a circus strongman in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, which was filmed in 1968 but delayed for release until 1996. In the early 1970s he appeared as a bodyguard in a TV commercial for St Bruno pipe tobacco, a role which he reprised in a spoof advert for "Butch" tobacco in Kitten Kong, an episode of the BBC series The Goodies. Reid also appeared in a handful of cult horror movies including Dr. Phibes Rises Again and Terror, fantasy/adventure films such as The People That Time Forgot and Arabian Adventure, and several British sex films such as Come Play with Me and Adventures of a Private Eye. Additionally Reid accepted non-sexual roles in a couple of hardcore porn films including Arabian Knights, shot in London in 1979 and released by Color Climax.