Dean Cain

Template:Use American English Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Dean George Cain (né Tanaka; born July 31, 1966) is an American actor best known for portraying Superman in the 1990s television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Cain was also the host of Ripley's Believe It or Not! and appeared in the sports drama series Hit the Floor.

Early life

Dean George Tanaka<ref name="SupermanVsHollywood">Template:Cite book</ref> was born on July 31, 1966,<ref name="CNNAlmanac">Template:Cite web</ref> at Selfridge Air Force Base in Harrison Township, Michigan.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His mother, Sharon Thomas, was an actress.<ref name="Goldsea">Template:Cite journal</ref> Cain is mixed-race; His father, Roger Tanaka, was an American serviceman of Japanese descent, the son of John Megumi Tanaka and Miyoko Tanaka. Cain said that several members of his family were interned at the Minidoka War Relocation Center in Idaho as part of the Internment of Japanese Americans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The rest of Cain's ancestry is Welsh, Irish, and French Canadian.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Cain said of his father, whom he never met, "He's not the kind of man I want to be. He was an unfaithful husband and not much of a father." Soon after Dean's birth, his mother, pursuing an acting career, moved him and his older brother Roger to Los Angeles. In 1969, Sharon married the film director Christopher Cain, who adopted her two sons, and Dean and Roger took their stepfather's surname. The couple moved to Malibu, California, and had a daughter, Krisinda.<ref name="cain" /><ref name="Goldsea" />

Cain attended Santa Monica High School, where he excelled in sports. Among his schoolmates were Charlie Sheen, who played on the same baseball team as Cain when they were children, as well as Rob Lowe and his brother Chad. Cain graduated from high school in 1984 and attended Princeton University, where he majored in American history.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He dated actress Brooke Shields, whom he met in a religion class at the university.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=cain/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cain graduated in 1988 with a bachelor of arts in history. His senior thesis was "The History and Development of the Functions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Football

At Princeton, Cain starred as a free safety on the football team. He began his career as a cornerback, making his first start during his sophomore year in 1985.<ref name="W&M challenge">Template:Cite news</ref> In the season opener, he contributed to Princeton's 10–3 victory over Dartmouth by diving for an underthrown pass that would have resulted in a Dartmouth touchdown to record his first interception.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Against Cornell in the final game of 1985, he intercepted Marty Stallone thrice to help the Tigers win 33–27.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the end of the season, he was an honorable mention on the All-Ivy League team.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cain switched to safety for 1986, a position he preferred since it had "a lot of action", and led the Tigers in tackles.<ref name="W&M challenge" /><ref name="Cain acts up">Template:Cite news</ref>

As a senior in 1987, he set the NCAA Division I-AA record for most interceptions in a season with 12, surpassing the 11 by Bill McGovern in 1984.<ref name="Princeton rips Cornell">Template:Cite news</ref> His record stood until Rashean Mathis had 14 in 2002.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cain began the year with a two-interception performance against Dartmouth, then had his school-best 13th career pick the following week versus Davidson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Cain acts up" /> In the season finale, Cain picked off Cornell three times in a seven-interception performance for the Princeton defense.<ref name="Princeton rips Cornell" /> The Associated Press named him a first team I-AA All-American, and he also received the John P. Poe–Richard W. Kazmaier Jr. Football Trophy for the year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He finished his collegiate career with a school-record 22 interceptions in 30 games.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After his graduation in 1988, he signed on as a free agent with the National Football League's Buffalo Bills.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He hurt his right knee during training camp, which prevented him from playing in the preseason and he underwent an arthroscopy in late July.<ref name="Princeton adds incentive">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cain was placed on the Bills' injured reserve list for the season.<ref name="Princeton adds incentive" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The injury ended his football career prematurely.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

With little hope of returning to sports, Cain turned to screenwriting and then acting, shooting dozens of commercials, including a volleyball-themed spot for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and appearing on such popular television shows as Grapevine, A Different World, and Beverly Hills, 90210. Template:Double image In 1993, Cain took his biggest role to date, that of Superman in the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. At the height of its popularity, the program drew an average of at least 15 million viewers per episode. The series ran for four seasons, ending in 1997. Cain later made his first return to the Superman franchise with a special guest role in a season seven episode of Smallville, as the immortal Dr. Curtis Knox, a character based upon the DC Comics villain Vandal Savage;<ref name="smallville">Template:Cite episode</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cain returned to the Superman universe again between 2015 and 2017, in a recurring role on Supergirl, as the title character's foster father, Jeremiah Danvers.<ref name="CainSlater">Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 1998, Cain started the Angry Dragon Entertainment production company, which produced the TBS Superstation television series Ripley's Believe It or Not! He has also starred in several films, including The Broken Hearts Club (2000), Out of Time (2003), and Bailey's Billion$ (2004). In 2004, he played Scott Peterson in the made-for-television movie The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story. He appeared in a recurring role as Casey Manning in the television series Las Vegas. He also had a lead role in the VH1 hit series Hit the Floor, that of Pete Davenport, who becomes the new head coach of a fictional professional basketball team and has an illegitimate daughter who is a cheerleader for his Los Angeles Devils team.

In 2009, Cain was ranked No. 33 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the '90s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cain was a contestant in an NBC celebrity reality competition series called Stars Earn Stripes. He won four out of six missions on the show, though he came in third in the finals. In 2012, he participated in Fox's dating game show The Choice.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2013, Cain hosted a reality show about Bigfoot titled 10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty, where he offered contestants $10 million to prove the existence of Bigfoot. Cain later appeared in the mid-season premiere of Comic Book Men, appearing at Kevin Smith's Secret Stash where the crew was celebrating 75 years of Superman, where it was claimed that his portrayal of the character helped people care about Superman again.Template:Citation needed Cain appeared in the film God's Not Dead, in which he plays an arrogant businessman. In 2016, Cain played a guest role on the Netflix original series Lady Dynamite as Graham, the ex-fiancé of Maria Bamford.

Cain is also known for having appeared in 16 Christmas films and several faith-based films.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In 2018, Cain hosted a television infomercial for The National Real Estate Network, an entity which seeks to persuade individuals to attend meetings where they can learn about flipping real estate. In October of that year, it was discovered that Ronnie Mund (Ronnie the Limo Driver), the personal driver and bodyguard of radio DJ Howard Stern, had been using a photoshopped picture of Cain as his own publicity photo. Specifically, Mund's head had been transposed onto the body of Cain. Mund initially denied the photo was altered but eventually acknowledged he had been using the fraudulent photo for over five years. Mund claimed he was unaware the photo was not genuine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cain co-starred in the 2018 film Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer about the investigation and trial of Kermit Gosnell. He also starred in the 2018 film Andy the Talking Hedgehog.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2019, Cain starred alongside Kristy Swanson in the play FBI Lovebirds, which mocked Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, two FBI agents who were briefly on the team investigating Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>

In June 2021, it was announced that he would make his directorial debut with Little Angels and star in it.<ref name=":1"/>

As of 2021, Cain was the Actor in Residence at High Point University.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

For two years in the 1980s, Cain dated Brooke Shields, an actress, while they were attending Princeton University.<ref name=cain>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 1992, he dated Gabrielle Reece, a professional beach-volleyball player and model.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1997, Cain became engaged to Mindy McCready, a singer;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> they broke up in 1998.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

He has a son, Christopher Cain, born June 11, 2000, with one of his ex-girlfriends, Samantha Torres, a Playboy Playmate and model.<ref name="cain"/> Cain named his son after his adoptive father, Christopher Cain, a film director.

On June 19, 2018, Cain was sworn in as a reserve police officer for the St. Anthony Police Department in Idaho.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2020, he joined the Pocatello Police Department in Idaho as a reserve police officer.<ref>BACK THE BLUE: Former Superman, UFC Hall of Famer join PPD as reserve officers</ref> He also subsequently joined the Frederick County, Virginia Sheriff's Office as a reserve deputy sheriff.<ref>Former Superman helping fight crime in Frederick County</ref>

Political views

File:Secretary Pompeo on set of Fox and Friends with Actor Dean Cain (47541751911).jpg

Cain (second from right) with Mike Pompeo on Fox & Friends in 2019

Cain says that he voted for Bill Clinton in both the 1992 and 1996, as well as for Al Gore in 2000, the latter of which he later said he "regretted".<ref name=":0"/> He supported John McCain in 2008 and supported Rick Perry at the Republican primaries in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2016, 2020, and 2024, he endorsed and voted for Donald Trump.<ref name="trump">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="supermanVotedTrump">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2018, Cain was elected to the board of directors of the National Rifle Association of America.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That same year, Cain said that he was once a registered Republican, but later became a registered independent, feeling that the Republican Party did not "fully represent his views".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2025, Cain released a video indicating that he had joined Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and encouraging others to "join the agency as well".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Elmer	Dean Russell
1979	Charlie and the Talking Buzzard	Joe
1984	The Stone Boy	Eugene Hillerman
1990	Write to Kill	Parking valet
	Going Under	Guy in bar
1992	Miracle Beach	Volleyball player no.1
1997	Eating Las Vegas	Frank	Short film
	Best Men	Sergeant 'Buzz' Thomas
2000	The Broken Hearts Club	Cole
	No Alibi	Bob Valenz
	Flight of Fancy	Clay Bennett
	Militia	Ethan Carter	Direct-to-video
	For the Cause	General Murran
2001	Phase IV	Simon Tate
	Fire Trap	Jack / Max Hooper	Also producer
	Rat Race	Shawn Kent
	A Christmas Adventure ...From a Book Called Wisely's Tales	Donner	Voice; direct-to-video
2002	New Alcatraz	Dr. Robert Trenton	Direct-to-video
	Dark Descent	Will Murdack
2003	Breakaway	Morgan
	Out of Time	Chris Harrison
	Grandpa's Place		Cameo; short film
2004	Post Impact	Tom Parker
	Lost	Jeremy Stanton
2005	Truth	Peter
	Bailey's Billion$	Theodore Maxwell
	Wrinkles
2006	Max Havoc: Ring of Fire	Roger Tarso
	September Dawn	Joseph Smith
2007	Urban Decay	Stan
2008	Ace of Hearts	Daniel Harding
	Five Dollars a Day	Rick Carlson
2009	Aussie and Ted's Great Adventure	Michael Brooks
	Maneater	Harry	Direct-to-video
2010	Circle of Pain	Wyatt
	Abandoned	Kevin Peterson
	Hole in One	Repo Man
	Kill Katie Malone	Robert
	Pure Country 2: The Gift	Music video director	Also co-writer
	A Nanny for Christmas	Danny Donner	Direct-to-video
	Subject: I Love You	James Trapp
	Bed & Breakfast	Jake
2011	5 Days of War	Chris Bailot
	Home Run Showdown	Rico Deluca
	Dirty Little Trick	Michael
	The Fallen	Cole
	Latin Quarter	Appolinaire
	Vacation	Bryce
	The Sandy Creek Girls	Jared
2012	Meant to Be	Mike
	I Am... Gabriel	Sheriff Brody
2013	Heaven's Door	Leo
	Man Camp	Luke
	Defending Santa	Sheriff Scott Hanson
	The Tale of the Princess Kaguya	The Mikado	Voice; English dub
2014	At the Top of the Pyramid	Jefferson Parker
	God's Not Dead	Marc Shelley
	The Appearing	Dr. Shaw
	Airplane vs. Volcano	Rick Pierce
	A Belle for Christmas	Glenn Barrows
	Small Town Santa	Sheriff Rick Langston	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	A Horse for Summer	Kent Walsh
	A Dog for Christmas	Earl
	Horse Camp	Luke
	The Three Dogateers	Matt
2015	Vendetta	Mason Danvers
	Deadly Sanctuary	Roy Hollingsworth
2016	DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year	Jonathan Kent	Voice
	The Black Hole	Mark Willis
2017	Illicit	Felipe
2018	The Incantation	Abel Baddon
	Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer	Detective James 'Woody' Wood
	Megan's Christmas Miracle	John
	Andy the Talking Hedgehog	Bob
	2050	Maxwell
	Prolonged Exposure	Detective Jaime Montenegro
2019	The Challenger Disaster	Larry Arnold
	Sweet Inspirations	Greg
	Ria	Vice President Flemming
	90 Feet from Home	Raymond Fuller
	The Seven	High Priest Asael
	The Follower	Sheriff
	A Promise to Astrid	Pastor Scott Seabury
	Madness in the Method	Dean	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020	OBAMAGATE : The Movie	Peter Strzok
	Skydog	Neil Glasswell
2021	Break Every Chain	Pastor Gabe	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
	Trail Blazers	Haden
	A Parent's Worst Nightmare	John Belton	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2022	No Vacancy	Cliff Lea	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
	Miracle at Manchester	Dr. Getty
2023	R.A.D.A.R.: The Adventures of the Bionic Dog	Mayor
2024	Letters at Christmas
2025	Little Angels	Jake Rogers	Also director<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
TBA	Faith Under Fire	Pastor Dan Underwood	Post-production
	Baby Bulldog	Judge Kelly
	The Ride	Mark Smith	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Christine Cromwell: Things That Go Bump in the Night		Television film
1990	Christine Cromwell: In Vino Veritas
	Life Goes On	Kimo	Episode: "Corky and the Dolphins"
1992	A Different World	Eddie	Episode: "The Cat's in the Cradle"
	Grapevine	Brian	Episode: "The Janice and Brian Story"
	Beverly Hills, 90210	Rick	4 episodes
1993	Touchdown: Football Goes to the Movies	Himself	Host; documentary
1993–1997	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Clark Kent / Superman	Also writer (2 episodes)
1995	Off Camera with Dean Cain	Himself	Host; also director and producer
	Living Single	Himself	Episode: "Mommy Not Dearest"
1996	Cutty Whitman	Clark Kent	Television film; uncredited
1997	Rag and Bone	Tony Moran	Television film; also producer
1998	Adventures from the Book of Virtues	King Charlemagne	Voice; episode: "Integrity"
	Futuresport	Tremayne 'Tre The Pharaoh' Ramzey	Television film
	Dogboys	Julian Taylor
2000	The Runaway	Sheriff Frank Richards
2000–2003	Ripley's Believe It or Not!	Himself	Host; also producer
2001	Just Shoot Me!	Chris Williams	Episode: "Maya Stops Thinking"
2002	Gentle Ben	Jack Wedloe	Television film
	The Glow	Matt Lawrence
	Frasier	Rick	Episode: "We Two Kings"
	Christmas Rush	Lieutenant Cornelius Morgan	Television film
2003	Gentle Ben 2: Danger on the Mountain	Jack Wedloe	Television film
	Dragon Fighter	Captain David Carver	Television film; also producer
2003–2004	The Division	Inspector Jack Ellis	8 episodes
2004	I Do (But I Don't)	Nick Corina	Television film
	The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story	Scott Peterson
2004–2005	Clubhouse	Conrad Dean	11 episodes
2005	Mayday	Commander James Slan	Television film
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Dr. Mike Jergens	Episode: "Starved"
	Hope & Faith	Larry Walker	4 episodes
2005–2006	Las Vegas	Casey Manning	9 episodes
2006	Dead and Deader	Lieutenant Bobby Quinn	Television film
	10.5: Apocalypse	Brad	Miniseries
	A Christmas Wedding	Tucker	Television film
2007	Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness	Bruce Murakami
	Hidden Camera	Dan Kovacs
	Smallville	Dr. Curtis Knox	Episode: "Cure"
	CSI: Miami	Roger Partney	Episode: "Permanent Vacation"
2008	Final Approach	Jack Bender	Television film
	Making Mr. Right	Eddie
2009	The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger	Shea McCall
	The Three Gifts	Jack Green
	The Dog Who Saved Christmas	Ted Stein
	Entourage	Himself	Episode: "Scared Straight"
2010	Frost Giant	J.C.	Television film
	The Way Home	Randy Simpkins
	The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation	Ted Stein
2011	A Mile in His Shoes	Arthur 'Murph' Murphy
	Burn Notice	Ryan Pewterbaugh	Episode: "Fail Safe"
	The Dog Who Saved Halloween	Ted Stein	Television film
	The Case for Christmas	Michael Sherman
2012	Operation Cupcake	Griff Carson
	Criminal Minds	Curtis Banks	Episode: "Snake Eyes"
	Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23	Himself	3 episodes
	Stars Earn Stripes		5 episodes
	The Choice		Contestant
	Bloopers		Host
	The Dog Who Saved the Holidays	Ted Stein	Television film
2013	Texas Takedown: The Real Men in Black	Narrator	Voice
2013–2018	Hit the Floor	Pete Davenport
2014	Merry Ex-Mas	Jessie Rogers	Television film
	Mulaney	Himself	Pilot episode
	The Dog Who Saved Easter	Ted Stein	Television film
2014–present	Masters of Illusion	Himself	Host
2015	A Wish Come True		Television film
	The Dog Who Saved Summer	Ted Stein
	Beverly Hills Christmas	Archangel Gabriel
2015–2017	Supergirl	Jeremiah Danvers	6 episodes
2016	Broadcasting Christmas	Charlie Fisher	Television film
	The Jump	Himself
	Lady Dynamite	Graham	6 episodes
	Good Morning Christmas	Charlie Fisher	Television film
2018	Winter's Dream	Ty
2023	The Curse	Mark Rose	2 episodes

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role	Notes
2002	Grandia Xtreme	Evann	<ref name="btva">Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:IMDb name
• Dean Cain on Yahoo movies