Dean Edwards (born July 30, 1970 in The Bronx) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and voice actor best known for Saturday Night Live and the Shrek franchise.
Edwards's stand-up comedy career took off after a six-year stint in the US Army Reserves. He began to get both live action and voice roles, leading to a successful audition on Saturday Night Live. He didn't have any recurring characters on the show but did develop a number of impressions, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Michael Jackson, and Billy Ocean. After his second season on the show, he and the more established Tracy Morgan, the only two African-American cast members, both left. The next season would see the debuts of Finesse Mitchell and Kenan Thompson.
Since leaving SNL, Edwards has voiced Donkey in several Shrek projects, replacing Eddie Murphy. Other projects have included the films A New Wave—co-starring with John Krasinski and Lacey Chabert—and Chris Rock's Top Five.
Dean Edwards appearances:
Film
- 2003 Marci X: Audience Member
- 2004 Tony And Tinas Wedding: Father Mark
- 2006 A New Wave: Rupert
- 2007 Universal Remote: Serious Black Man
- 2007 Spider-Man 3: Newsstand Patron
- 2008 Goyband: Ty
- 2010 Aprils Fools: Now Later
- 2014 Top Five: Himself
Live-Action TV
- 1996 Melrose Place: Process Server (1 episode)
- 2001-03 Saturday Night Live: Various/self
- 2004 The Sopranos: Charles (1 episode)
- 2014 Deadbeat: Gucci Man (1 episode)
Voice Acting
- 1998 Celebrity Deathmatch: Scottie Pippen/Spike Lee (2 episodes)
- 2006 Where My Dogs At: Various Celebrities (6 episodes)
- 2010 Scared Shrekless: Donkey
- Edwards also voiced Donkey in the 2011 short Thriller Night and the 2023 video game DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing.
- 2011 Robotomy: Robot (1 episode)
- 2019-20 Our Cartoon President: Sen. Cory Booker and others.
