In 1987, a talent scout came to Badge Dale's school looking for fresh faces for the new film version of Lord of the Flies. Badge landed the part of Simon, the solitary boy, who's murder symbolizes the boys descent into savagery.
Badge appeared in a Levi's jeans ad and did several guest appearances on shows like The Wonder Years and The Golden Girls. Soon after, he was cast as the lead in Radio Flyer. After two weeks of filming in the summer of 1990, production was halted and the first time director (and writer of the movie) was fired. The movie was in turmoil and the entire cast quit the movie. After that, Badge stopped acting.
Badge went on to play Junior A Hockey for the Utah Valley Golden Eagles, where he was a goalie. In 1999 he played for Manhattanville College. Badge remained in New York studying acting and playwriting, but he never graduated from college. To pay the bills, Badge worked in construction.
In 2002, was cast in an independent film, Nola, and appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. During the summer of 2003, Badge starred in the Off-Broadway play, Getting Into Heaven. Badge's biggest break in his adult acting career came when he was cast in the tv series 24 as Kiefer Sutherland's new partner, Chase Edmunds.
In 2005, he guest starred in a CSI: Miami and CSI: NY crossover episode in which he played an escaped murderer.