Camargo next landed a co-starring role in the independent drama "The Story of a Bad Boy" (1999), playing a college student on whom a male high schooler forms a crush. Returning to the stage, The actor portrayed Lord Byron in the Williamstown Theatre Festival 1999 production of "Camino Real" and was Horatio to Liev Schrieber's "Hamlet" the following year. Camargo traveled to the West Coast to co-star in the world premiere of Robert Glaudini's "The Poison Tree", playing a leather jacket-clad drifter. He enjoyed his best stage role, however, as the title character in "Kit Marlowe" in the 2000 Off-Broadway show. From his stunning entrance in the nude through to the final scene, the handsome actor dominated the stage as the wild Elizabethan author Christopher Marlowe.
In 2002, Camargo landed a supporting role in the submarine movie "K-19: The Widowmaker" starring Harrison Ford. This exposure led to Camargo's name being tossed around various "man of the moment" lists and the word was out that Camargo was one to keep an eye on.