Dean got his start dropping out of two film schools (San Francisco State University and University of Southern California) to work on films for Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, and Oliver Stone. After making his directing/writing debut with The McPherson Tape, Dean went on to make the award-winning independent film Crashing Eden and direct episodic TV (Watch Over Me) and several one and two hour bio-docs on Billie The Kid, Jessie James, and Lizzie Borden.

Dean's writing skills and direction of actors has been praised by Variety and his abilities as an innovative storyteller singled out by Collider. Dean enjoys working in a wide range of genres including westerns (Shadowheart for Starz/Anchor Bay), supernatural thrillers (Portal for Vertical Entertainment) and an upcoming 3-part limited science docu-series. In addition to filmmaking, Dean is a mediocre drummer and enjoys playing with any band that will have him.