Despite the apprehensions of his friends, Browne managed to land the roles of soothsayer and Pindarus in "Julius Caesar", directed by Joseph Papp for New York City's first Shakespeare Festival Theater. More work with the Shakespeare Festival Theater followed, and he voiced an offscreen part as camera operator J.J. Burden in "The Connection" (1961), his first movie role. In "The Cowboys" (1972) in a role as a camp cook, he led a group of young cowhands avenging the death of John Wayne's character in the movie.