In 2003, Bomer returned to theatre to star in a Powerhouse Theater production of Paul Weitz's play "Roullete" in New York. A year later, he appeared in the episode "Bellport" in the primetime TV show of "North Shore". His screen debut occurred in the 2005 starring in the Robert Schwentke directed mystery thriller "Flightplan", opposite Jodie Foster. Bomer's character was a flight attendant. The film grossed $223.3 million worldwide, becoming the seventeenth highest-grossing film of the year and Bomer's most lucrative film so far. In the slasher film "" (2006), Bomer portrayed Eric a Vietnam War veteran who is driving across Texas to re-enlist after his brother is drafted. The brothers run afoul of Sheriff Hoyt and are taken captive by the Hewitt family. He acted in his first television film "Amy Coyne" (2006), where he plays Case. The film tells the story of a young woman who inherits her father's sports agency. His first leading role was in the series "Traveler" (2007), along with Logan Marshall-Green, Aaron Stanford and Viola Davis, a short-lived midseason replacement television series which premiered on ABC on May 30, 2007, the series tells the story of two graduate students, become suspected of terrorism after a skateboarding race inside a museum. The series was officially canceled after eight episodes. He had a supporting role in the NBC action-comedy spy–drama "Chuck" (2007–09). The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck Bartowski (played by Zachary Levi), who receives an encoded e-mail from Bomer's character, Bryce Larkin, an old college friend now working for the CIA. In 2007, Bomer took on the role of Ernest Hemingway in a Williamstown Theatre Festival production of Crispin Whittell's play "Villa America" in Massachusetts, starring with Jennifer Mudge and Nate Corddry.  2009 marked a significant turning point in Bomer's career as he starred as the con artist Neal Caffrey in the police procedural drama series "White Collar", he was part of an ensemble cast that included Tim DeKay, Willie Garson and Tiffani Thiessen. "White Collar" premiered on August 23, 2009 on USA Network and was watched by more than 5.40 million people. His performance and that of the cast were praised; Mary McNamara of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote: "terrific acting, crackling dialogue and geek-hip crime are not the only things that make this the most electric drama to premiere this fall."