Edwards was born in Santa Barbara, California, the son of Erika Kem (née Weber), an artist/landscape painter, and Peter Edwards, an architect. He has two older sisters, Heidi and Ann-Marie, and two older brothers, Peter and Jeffrey. Edwards was encouraged by his parents to attend college before pursuing his interest in acting. He received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in England and studied theatre at University of Southern California;[citation needed] but by the age of nineteen was being offered enough acting work to enable him to leave college.\n', '

Edwards\' early work included a co-starring role in the TV series It Takes Two with Richard Crenna and Patty Duke Astin as his parents and Helen Hunt as his sister. He made a cameo in the hit 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High as "Stoner Bud". In 1984, he starred in the hit comedy film Revenge of the Nerds playing the main role of Gilbert Lowe, a sensitive and well meaning nerd, Lewis\' (played by Robert Carradine) best friend and later president of the Tri-Lambs. He reprised the role of Gilbert for a few brief scenes in the sequel Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), with his character unable to join the rest of the nerds because of a broken leg.\n', '

It was Edwards\' role as LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw alongside Tom Cruise in the 1986 film Top Gun that brought his first widespread public acknowledgement. His character, who died in an aviation accident, was among the most prominent and popular in the film. He appeared as a terminally ill patient in Hawks (1988) alongside Timothy Dalton, another role which brought him worldwide fame. He starred in the Cold War era comedy Gotcha! as a college student who gets wrapped up in spy antics. He starred in the 1990 movie Downtown with Penelope Ann Miller and Forest Whitaker. He also played widowed veterinarian Chase Matthews, father of Edward Furlong\'s character, in the horror film Pet Sematary Two (1992), a sequel to the film Pet Sematary in 1989. In 1992 and 1993 he played Mike Monroe in ten episodes of Northern Exposure.\n', '

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