| Dean Cain | |
|---|---|
Cain in Iraq, May 13, 2005 |
|
| Born | Dean George Tanaka July 31, 1966 Mount Clemens, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, presenter, producer, writer, voice actor, director |
| Years active | 1976–present |
Dean Cain (born Dean George Tanaka; July 31, 1966) is an American actor. He is most widely known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman in the popular American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
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Cain was born as Dean George Tanaka in Mount Clemens, Michigan, the son of actress Sharon Thomas and U.S. Army serviceman Roger Tanaka, who left the family before he was born. Cain is of French Canadian, Irish, Welsh, and Japanese (from his paternal grandfather) descent.[1] In 1969, Cain's mother married film director Christopher Cain, who adopted Dean and his brother (musician Roger Cain), and the family moved to Malibu, California.[2][3] The couple later had a daughter, Dean's half-sister, actress Krisinda Cain. Both attended Santa Monica High School, where he excelled in sports. He played on the baseball team, and Chad and Rob Lowe and Charlie Sheen—who played on the baseball team—were among his schoolmates. Cain graduated from high school in 1984 and was offered athletic scholarships to 17 universities, but decided to attend Princeton University. At Princeton, he was captain of the volleyball team and played free safety on the football team, where he had record-setting 12 interceptions in a single season.[4] He was also a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity and the Cap & Gown eating club. Cain graduated from Princeton in 1988 with a BA degree in History; his senior thesis was titled "The History and Development of the Functions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences."
Immediately after graduating, Cain signed on as a free agent with the Buffalo Bills, an NFL football team, but a knee injury during training camp ended his football career before it began.[5] With little hope of returning to sports, he turned to screenwriting and then acting, shooting dozens of commercials including a famous volleyball one for Kellogg's Frosties and appearing on popular television shows like Grapevine, A Different World and Beverly Hills, 90210. In 1993, Cain took on his biggest role to date as Superman in the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. At the height of its popularity, it would bring in an average of at least 15 million viewers per episode. The series ran for four seasons, ending in 1997.
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) (co-starred Laurie Holden, Jennifer Tilly, and Tim Curry). In 2004, he portrayed Scott Peterson in the fact-based 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. Cain made a return to the Superman franchise, with a special guest role in a seventh season episode of Smallville as the immortal Dr. Curtis Knox, a character based upon the DC Comics villain Vandal Savage.[6][7] He's #33 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the '90s. Cain has also made an appearance in the new comical Internet Explorer 8 commercials.
Dean has a son named Christopher Dean Cain (b. June 11, 2000) with former girlfriend and Playboy Playmate Samantha Torres. His son is named after his stepfather, film director Christopher Cain. He was previously engaged to country singer Mindy McCready in the late 1990s. While promoting the television show, Ripley's Believe It or Not, on the Howard Stern Show on January 10, 2001, Cain said that his biological father lied to the National Enquirer by saying that Dean's mother left him while he was serving in the Vietnam War. Dean stated that the truth is his father never served in the war but instead cheated on his mother, with this being the real reason they divorced.[8] Dean Cain has supported Rick Perry for President in the upcoming 2012 election. [1]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Elmer | Dean Russell | |
| 1979 | Charlie and the Talking Buzzard | Joe | |
| 1984 | The Stone Boy | Eugene Hillerman | |
| 1989 | Christine Cromwell: Things That Go Bump in the Night | TV | |
| 1990 | Write to Kill | Parking Valet | |
| Going Under | Guy in Bar | ||
| 1992 | Grapevine | Brian | TV |
| Miracle Beach | Volleyball Player #1 | ||
| Beverly Hills, 90210 | Rick | TV | |
| 1993 | Touchdown: Football Goes to the Movies | Himself - Host | |
| 1993–1997 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Clark Kent/Superman | TV Series |
| 1995 | Off Camera with Dean Cain | Himself - Host | TV Series / Host / Also Produced and Directed |
| 1996 | Cutty Whitman | Clark Kent | TV / Uncredited |
| 1997 | Rag and Bone | Tony Moran | TV / Also produced |
| Eating Las Vegas | Frank | ||
| Best Men | Sergeant Buzz Thomas | ||
| 1998 | Dogboys | Julian Taylor | TV |
| Futuresport | Tremaine 'Tre' Ramzey | TV | |
| 1999–2003 | Ripley's Believe It or Not! | Himself - Host | TV Series / Host / Also produced |
| 2000 | The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy | Cole | |
| No Alibi | Bob Valenz | ||
| Flight of Fancy | Clay Bennett | ||
| Militia | Ethan Carter | ||
| For the Cause (a.k.a. Final Encounter) | Gen. Murran | ||
| The Runaway | Sheriff Frank Richards | TV | |
| 2001 | Just Shoot Me! | Chris Williams | TV |
| Phase IV | Simon Tate | ||
| Firetrap | Jack/Max Hooper | Also produced | |
| Rat Race | Shawn Kent | ||
| A Christmas Adventure From a Book Called Wisely's Tales | Donner | Voice | |
| 2002 | Grandia Xtreme | Evann | Video game; Voice |
| Gentle Ben | Jack Wedloe | TV | |
| New Alcatraz (Boa) | Dr. Robert Trenton | ||
| Dark Descent | Will Murdack | ||
| The Glow | Matt Lawrence | TV | |
| Christmas Rush | Lt. Cornelius Morgan | TV | |
| Frasier | Rick | TV | |
| 2003 | Dragon Fighter | Capt. David Carver | Also produced |
| Gentle Ben 2: Danger on the Mountain | Jack Wedloe | TV | |
| Out of Time | Chris Harrison | ||
| 2003–2004 | The Division | Insp. Jack Ellis | TV series |
| 2004 | Grandpa's Place | Special Appearance | Short |
| Post Impact | Sargent/Captain Tom Parker | ||
| I Do (But I Don't) | Nick Corina | TV | |
| Clubhouse | Conrad Dean | TV Series | |
| Lost | Jeremy Stanton | ||
| The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story | Scott Peterson | TV | |
| 2005 | Truth | Peter | |
| Bailey's Billion$ | Theodore Maxwell | ||
| Movie Adaptation|Mayday | Cmdr. James Slan | TV | |
| Wrinkles | |||
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dr. Mike Jergens | TV | |
| Las Vegas | Casey Manning | TV | |
| 2006 | 10.5: Apocalypse | Brad | TV |
| Max Havoc: Ring of Fire | Roger Tarso | ||
| Dead And Deader | Lt. Bobby Quinn | TV | |
| September Dawn | Joseph Smith | ||
| A Christmas Wedding | Tucker | TV | |
| 2007 | Urban Decay | Stan | |
| Hidden Camera | Dan Kovacs | TV | |
| Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness | Bruce Murakami | TV | |
| Final Approach | Jack Bender | TV | |
| Smallville | Dr. Curtis Knox | TV | |
| CSI: Miami | Roger Partney | TV | |
| 2008 | Making Mr. Right | Eddie | TV |
| Ace of Hearts | Daniel Harding | ||
| $5 a Day | Rick Carlson | ||
| 2009 | Aussie and Ted's Great Adventure | Michael Brooks | |
| The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger | Shea McCall | TV | |
| Maneater | Harry | ||
| The Dog Who Saved Christmas | Ted Stein | TV | |
| The Three Gifts | Jack Green | TV (Hallmark) | |
| 2010 | The Way Home | Randy Simpkins | |
| Frost Giant | JC | TV | |
| Circle of Pain | Wyatt | ||
| Abandoned | Kevin Peterson | ||
| Hole in One | Repo Man | ||
| Kill Katie Malone | Robert | ||
| Pure Country 2: The Gift | Director | ||
| A Nanny for Christmas | Danny Donner | ||
| The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation | Ted Stein | TV Sequel | |
| Subject: I Love You | James Trapp | ||
| Bed & Breakfast | Jake | ||
| 2011 | 5 Days of War | Chris Bailot | |
| At the Top of the Pyramid | Jefferson Parker | ||
| Home Run Showdown | Rico Deluca | ||
| Dirty Little Trick | Michael | ||
| The Fallen | Cole | ||
| Latin Quarter | Appolinaire | ||
| Vacation | Bryce | ||
| The Sandy Creek Girls | Jared | ||
| The Dog Who Saved Halloween | Ted Stein | TV Sequel | |
| Burn Notice | Ryan Pewterbaugh |