Getting to play a superhero on TV is no small deal, especially if that superhero is a very famous one. Several characters have taken up the role of the Man of Steel, and Dean Cain is one of them. Appearing in the superhero drama series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Dean Cain depicted Clark Kent/Superman alongside Teri Hatcher, who played Lois Lane. The series ran for four seasons, with 87 episodes shown from premiere date September 12, 1993, to June 14, 1997. This role is recognized as Cain’s breakout role, opening the gates for more career successes to come his way.
Dean Cain’s Early Life
Dean Cain was born on a US Air Force Base in Mount Clemens, Michigan, on July 31, 1966. He was born Dean George Tanaka to a US serviceman Roger Tanaka and an actress mother Sharon Thomas. He’s of mixed heritage, with Japanese, Irish, Welsh, and French-Canadian roots. The actor has an older brother named Roger. Cain never met his biological father as shortly after his birth, Sharon moved him and his brother to Los Angeles for her acting career. She met film director Christopher Cain and married him in 1969. Christopher adopted Dean and Roger, leading to Dean changing his last name from Tanaka to Cain. He also has a half-sister, Krisinda Cain from his mother’s second marriage.
Dean Cain attended Santa Monica High School in California alongside American actors Charlie Sheen, Rob Lowe, and Chad Lowe. Cain excelled in sports while in high school and was part of the baseball team. After graduating from high school, he moved on to Princeton University, continuing his sporting excellence by joining the university’s football team as a free safety. At the close of his college football days, Dean had 22 interceptions in 30 games. He would go on to graduate with a BA in History in 1988.
A Look at His Career Successes
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by (@deuces1966) on Oct 30, 2016 at 11:28am PDT
With his stellar performance in football, Dean Cain had his sights on a professional career in the sport. He signed as a free agent to the NFL team the Buffalo Bills in 1988, as soon as he graduated from college. Sadly, a knee injury during training camp saw to it that a career in football, or sports altogether, was no longer possible. Undeterred, Cain switched tracks to screenwriting and acting, appearing in several advertisements and popular TV shows like A Different World and Beverly Hills, 90210.
The breakthrough role, and his biggest one to date, was when Dean Cain was cast as Clark Kent/Superman in the 1993 ABC series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Running for four seasons between 1993 and 1997, Cain appeared in all 87 episodes in his major role. With its huge popularity, an episode of the show had an average of 15 million viewers.
After the series ended, Cain founded Angry Dragon Entertainment, a production company responsible for the TBS documentary series Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Dean Cain has appeared in several other movies, both big screen and independent, with his roles ranging from major to minor ones. Dean Cain could be called a holiday person, considering he has acted in sixteen different Christmas-themed movies. He has appeared in the movies Out of Time (2003), Bailey’s Billion$ (2004), Dead and Deader (2006), Kill Katie Malone (2010), A Nanny for Christmas (2010), The Sandy Creek Girls (2011), A Horse for Summer (2014), 2050 (2018), and Ria (2019) among many others.
Combining his movie and television appearances, Dean Cain has well over one hundred movie roles under his belt. That is by no means any small feat. With all that work done, it’s no wonder the star’s total net worth is valued at $6 million.
Who Is He Married To?
It seems the actor has not been able to settle down despite the relationships he has been in. When he was still a student at Princeton, Cain dated American actress Brooke Shields for two years before they went their separate ways. He later dated singer Mindy McCready, with the duo getting engaged in 1997. This never led to a marriage and instead, the couple split just a year after. He has been linked to high profile women like Pamela Anderson and Denise Richards, but nothing says those weren’t just rumours.
Perhaps Dean Cain’s most serious relationship is the one he had with Playboy Playmate Samantha Torres. Reports show that the couple began dating each other in 1999. They got pregnant and on June 11, 2000, their son Christopher was born. Even though the couple is no longer an item, they share joint custody.
Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.
