Television and film

Edward's early film appearances included roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Revenge of the Nerds (1984), Gotcha! (1985) and The Sure Thing (1985). It was Edwards's role as LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw alongside Tom Cruise in the 1986 film Top Gun that brought his first widespread public acknowledgement.^[10] His character, who died in an aviation accident, was among the most prominent and popular in the film. Scenes with him and his film family (played by Meg Ryan and Aaron and Adam Weis) were later reprised as flashbacks in the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Edwards's roles following Top Gun included Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), Miracle Mile (1988), Downtown (1990), Pet Sematary Two (1992) and The Client (1994). He also had a recurring role on the TV series Northern Exposure from 1992-93.

His best-known role is as Dr. Mark Greene on the long-running TV series ER, from the series premiere in 1994 to the end of the eighth season in 2002. The series also afforded Edwards his first opportunity to direct. Edwards's desire to pursue directing led to his request to be written out of the series. He reportedly earned $35 million for three seasons on ER, which made him one of television's highest-paid actors.^[11] Edwards received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for ER. He won a Golden Globe Award For Best Performance by an Actor-In a TV Series after being nominated four times and he has two Screen Actor's Guild Awards.^[12] In 2008, Edwards returned to ER to reprise his role as Dr. Greene (in flashback scenes, where he treats the dying son of character Catherine Banfield) for one episode during its 15th and final season.^[13] Following ER, he took some time to raise his children, appreciating the privilege that his ER salary provided.^[14]

His film appearances following ER included the science fiction film Thunderbirds (2004), the psychological thriller film The Forgotten (2004) and the crime thriller film Zodiac (2007). In 2010, Edwards appeared in the movie Motherhood, which set a record for the biggest bomb in British cinema history by garnering £88 on 11 tickets on opening weekend.^[15] Motherhood did not fare much better in the United States, earning $93,388 in three weeks of release.^[16] At the time, he said he took the role because "it seemed like a very organic and real thing. It really kind of reminded me of what the dynamic in a family is like."^[17]

Edwards reunited with Val Kilmer, another actor from Top Gun, when he voiced one of the fighter jets in the Disneytoon Studios film Planes (2013).^[18]

In 2018, Edwards was cast in the recurring role in the third season of Netflix's Designated Survivor as Mars Harper, the President's Chief of Staff.^[19]

In 2020, he served as an Executive Producer of the film adaptation of Martin Moran's The Tricky Part.^[4]

In 2022, Edwards was cast as Alan Reed in Netflix's docu-series Inventing Anna.^[1]

Honors and awards

Edwards received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for ER and won as an executive producer on Outstanding Television Movie winner Temple Grandin. He earned a People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series (1995);^[13] and won six Screen Actors Guild Awards for: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1996 and 1998), and Best Ensemble Cast (1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999). He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Drama in 1998).^[13]

Edwards also won a Daytime Emmy for the production of the underground rock documentary N.Y.H.C. (1999) and the telepic adaptation of Kimberly Willis Holt's 1998 coming of age novel My Louisiana Sky (2001),^[20] and earned the Carnegie Medal Award for My Louisiana Sky (2003).^[20]

Theater

After a long career in television, Edwards made his Broadway debut as his second act in 2018 in the revival of Children of a Lesser God at Studio 54.^[12][14][21] In 2015 he appeared in Classic Stage Company's A Month in the Country but his stage acting career began when he was growing up in Santa Barbara.^[8][22]

On May 13, 2022, Edwards made his unexpected Broadway musical debut when he appeared as Dr. Walker in the Broadway production of Girl from the North Country due to COVID-19 cases impacting the cast. The show also stars his wife, Mare Winningham.^[23][24]

Edwards is slated to appear in the 2024 Broadway production of Prayer for the French Republic by Joshua Harmon.^[25]

Film

Television

Producer