His most recent performances include Sergeant Hallett in Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant (2017), as well as colonial Australian settler William Thornhill in The Secret River for the Sydney Theatre Company.

[citation needed] After performing in numerous productions in Melbourne's independent theatre scene, Dean auditioned for the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).

In 2008, Dean played a Rugby League star in Matt Nable's Australian film, The Final Winter, which told the story of how big business entered the NRL during the 1980s.

[8] That same year, Dean played Fred Klein in Rain Shadow, a desperate and suicidal farmer whose livelihood is threatened by drought.

Dean has spent more time on stage, starring in Belvoir St Theatre's production of Gwen in Purgatory, written by Tommy Murphy, and directed by Neil Armfield.

In 2013, he starred as William Thornhill in the Sydney Theatre Company's landmark adaptation of Kate Grenville's book, The Secret River.