Born in Staincliffe hospital in Dewsbury, England, the former professional extreme sports athlete was named by his uncle after the Oscar winning 1950s American actor Dean Jagger and chose for himself the same profession. Dean began acting in school productions at age 14 after a chance meeting with actor Michael Douglas while sailing with his father off the coast of Spain. He joined the theatre appearing in numerous stage productions. He was born with skills of a sportsman, trained in boxing from the age of 16. After finishing school, Dean heeded the call of his athletic talent and became a pro skater, traveling the globe and competing and placing in events such as the X-Games and the Walt Disney Skating Challenge. A few years in, he returned to his native England to fulfill his driving desire to act. He joined British Actor's Equity and studied in London at The Actor's Centre and Penelope Jay's School of Performing Arts and even did some studying in the U.S. He began training in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) at the age of 25 and is a certified Brown Belt in Jiu Jitsu. After saving the lives of an old man and his granddaughter from drowning in a freak accident, Dean turned his focus further inward and began to study the art of Reiki, the Japanese art of healing, relaxation and meditation, an interest passed along to him by his mother who is a Reiki master. His younger brothers are also in show business, Ben is a professional stuntman and Lee is a theatre actor, both in the UK.