With his wholesome good looks, the stage-trained McNamara has often played baby-faced 'boy-next-door' types in features and on TV. His parents sent him to boarding school in an effort to stymie his interest in acting, but McNamara won out. He spent a summer as an intern at the prestigious Williamstown Theater Festival before landing his first feature role in the youth-oriented drama "The Beat" (1987). He went on to appear as a younger version of Mark Harmon in "Stealing Home" (1988), Trini Alvarado's suitor in "Stella" and Jeff Bridges' chip-off-the-block profligate son in "Texasville" (both
