He has appeared on stage and in feature films, including as the title character in Billy Bathgate, as well as Apollo 13, Rosewood, Space Cowboys, and Ad Astra.
He won a Theatre World Award in 1989 for his Off Broadway debut in the play Amulets Against the Dragon Forces at the Circle Repertory Company.
He is a playwright and one of Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Patrick Shanley's favorite actors, having appeared in many of the author's plays, notably 4 Dogs and a Bone and Beggars in the House of Plenty.
His third film, the 1991 crime drama Billy Bathgate, cast him with Nicole Kidman, Dustin Hoffman and Bruce Willis.
Dean was lauded for his role as a cocaine-addicted, has-been movie star who is accidentally re-launched on the road to fame and fortune by a fan in Starstruck.
His films include Apollo 13 (1995), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Gattaca (1997), Enemy of the State (1998), and Space Cowboys (2000).