Edwards made his feature debut alongside Santa Barbara school chum Eric Stoltz as one of the two "Stoner Buds" of Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982). He went on to play Bonnie Bedelia's son in "Heart Like a Wheel" (1983) before leaving college for a regular role on the sitcom "It Takes Two" (ABC, 1982-83), with Richard Crenna, Patty Duke Astin and Helen Hunt. Cast as a likable college student in "Revenge of the Nerds" (1984) and "The Sure Thing" (1985), he received top billing in "Gotcha!" (1985) as (no surprise here) a nerdy vacationing college kid caught in a web of European intrigue and espionage. Though a marginal box office success, "Gotcha!" showed that Edwards' charm and talent could carry a film.
Edwards stole the show as Goose, Tom Cruise's ill-fated, easy-going navigator in Tony Scott's mega-hit "Top Gun". Deluged with offers, he hung up his teenybopper shoes, choosing instead characters in small, interesting movies like "Mr. North" (1988) "Hawks" (also 1988) and "Miracle Mile" (1989). "Mr. North", the feature directorial debut of Danny Huston, offered Edwards contact with the director's legendary father John, who co-scripted and executive produced the film just before his death. "Hawks" gave him the chance to work in England for the first time, and "Miracle Mile" presented him with a hopeless premise that no amount of good acting could save. Having slid from the spotlight, Edwards sought increased visibility in the dreadful bomb "Pet Sematary Two" (1992) and turned up as Susan Sarandon's associate in Joel Schumacher's courtroom thriller "The Client" (1994), based on the John Grisham novel.
Edwards has fared far better on the smaller screen, receiving widespread TV exposure as Mike Monroe, the lawyer and ecological conscience of the fictional town of Cicely, AK, on the popular "Northern Exposure" (CBS) during the 1992-93 season. He reunited with Helen Hunt for Showtime's one hour special "Sexual Healing" (1993) and earned a CableACE nomination as Best Actor. The 1994-1995 TV season marked a paunchier Edward's debut in a regular starring role on NBC's hospital drama series "ER". As Dr. Mark Greene, a highly sensitive, overworked but dedicated emergency room doctor, he became, in spite of his receding hairline, an overnight heartthrob. The role would ultimately earn Edwards four Emmy consecutive Emmy nominations, back-to-back Screen Actors Guild Award wins for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (1997 and 1998) and a 1998 Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series Drama.
In a radical departure from his TV persona, he delivered one of his finest performances as sociopathic killer Dick Hickock in the CBS miniseries version of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" (1996). He then segued back into film in the sappy but romantic ensemble comedy "Playing by Heart" (1998) as a married man involved with a married woman who insists their relationship cannot go beyond the physical. Next was the limp British romantic comedy "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1999), with Edwards as a fumbling sports trainer caught up in romantic triangle involving the unlikely combination of dentistry and hypnosis--the actor also served as a producer on the film. He then entered into two collaborations with Mark and Michael Polish, the writer-director brothers behind "Jackpot" (2001) and the superior "Northfork" (2003), playing a minor supporting role in the former and a blind mute with wooden hands and elaborate spectacles in the latter. After leaving "ER" in 2002 with the death of his character following a particularly effective storyline, Edwards remained a regular presence in films with supporting turns in family friendly adventure "Thunderbirds" and the paranormal thriller "The Forgotten" (both 2004). He also enjoyed a flourishing career as a producer of such films as the underground rock documentary "N.Y.H.C." (1999), the well-executed telepic adapation of the coming of age novel "My Louisiana Sky" (2001)--which earned Edwards a Daytime Emmy and the Andrew Carnegie Medal--and the cross-dressing indie comedy "Die, Mommie, Die" (2003).
Edwards has not forgotten the theater, finding time to tread the boards whenever possible in plays like "Black" (Williamstown Theatre Festival, 1992) and "Ten Below" (WPA Theatre, NYC, 1993). An honorary board member of Access Theatre, a repertory acting company comprised of disabled actors, he directed a documentary about the group that received several awards and a distribution in high schools around the country. He also directed the feature film "Charlie's Ghost Story" (1994), a modern-day Mark Twain adaptation starring Cheech Marin, Charles Rocket and Linda Fiorentino (his co-star in "Gotcha!").