Age: 58
Birthplace: Mount Clemens, Michigan, U.S.
Dean George Cain (né Tanaka; July 31, 1966) is an American actor, producer, writer, director, and television show host. He is known for his role as Superman in the TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, host of Ripley's Believe It or Not! and the soap opera series Hit the Floor.
Cain was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan, the biological son of Roger Tanaka and actress Sharon Thomas. He is of French Canadian, Irish, Japanese, and Welsh descent. In 1969, Cain's mother married film director Christopher Cain, who adopted Dean and his brother, musician Roger Cain; the family moved to Malibu, California. The couple later had a daughter, actress Krisinda Cain.
Cain attended Santa Monica High School, where he excelled in sports. Among his schoolmates were Chad and Rob Lowe and Charlie Sheen, the latter playing on the same baseball team as Cain when they were children. He graduated from high school in 1984 and attended Princeton University, where he played football. He dated actress Brooke Shields while at the university. He graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts 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, but a knee injury during training camp ended his football career before it began. With little hope of returning to sports, he turned to screenwriting and then acting, shooting dozens of commercials including a volleyball-themed spot 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). 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 season seven episode of Smallville as the immortal Dr. Curtis Knox, a character based upon the DC Comics villain Vandal Savage; and again in a recurring role of Supergirl, as the titular character's foster father, Jeremiah Danvers. He is also the star of the VH1 hit series Hit the Floor as Pete Davenport, who is the new head coach of a fictional NBA team and has an illegitimate daughter who is a cheerleader for his NBA team. He was ranked No. 33 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the '90s.
Cain was also 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.
In 2013, Cain hosted a reality show about Bigfoot called 10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty, where he offered contestants $10 Million to prove the existence of Bigfoot.
Cain 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, citing that Dean Cain helped people care about Superman again.
Cain appeared in the film God's Not Dead, in which he played an arrogant businessman named Mark.
While the two were both attending Princeton University, Cain dated actress Brooke Shields for two years. In 1997, Cain became engaged to singer Mindy McCready. The couple broke up the following year. He has a son named Christopher Dean Cain (born June 11, 2000) with ex-girlfriend and Playboy Playmate Samantha Torres. Cain named his son after his stepfather, film director Christopher Cain.
While promoting Ripley's Believe It or Not on the Howard Stern Show in January 2001, Cain said that his biological father lied to the National Enquirer when he stated that Cain's mother left him while he was serving in the Vietnam War. Cain stated his father never served in the war, and that the real reason for the divorce was that his father had cheated on his mother.
Cain supported Republican candidate Rick Perry for President in the 2012 election.
1976 | Elmer | Dean Russell | |
1979 | Charlie and the Talking Buzzard | Joe | |
1984 | The Stone Boy | Eugene Hillerman | |
1990 | Write to Kill | Parking Valet | |
1990 | Going Under | Guy in Bar | |
1992 | Miracle Beach | Volleyball Player #1 | |
1997 | Eating Las Vegas | Frank | Short film |
1997 | Best Men | Sergeant Buzz Thomas | |
2000 | The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy | Cole | |
2000 | No Alibi | Bob Valenz | |
2000 | Flight of Fancy | Clay Bennett | |
2000 | Militia | Ethan Carter | |
2000 | For the Cause | Gen. Murran | |
2001 | Phase IV | Simon Tate | |
2001 | Firetrap | Jack/Max Hooper | Also producer |
2001 | Rat Race | Shawn Kent | |
2001 | A Christmas Adventure From a Book Called Wisely's Tales | Donner | Voice role |
2002 | New Alcatraz | Dr. Robert Trenton | |
2002 | Dark Descent | Will Murdack | |
2003 | Dragon Fighter | Capt. David Carver | Also producer |
2003 | Breakaway | Morgan | |
2003 | Out of Time | Chris Harrison | |
2003 | Grandpa's Place | Special Appearance | Short film |
2004 | Post Impact | Tom Parker | |
2004 | Lost | Jeremy Stanton | |
2005 | Truth | Peter | |
2005 | Bailey's Billion$ | Theodore Maxwell | |
2005 | Wrinkles | ||
2005 | Mayday | Commander James Slan | |
2006 | Max Havoc: Ring of Fire | Roger Tarso | |
2006 | September Dawn | Joseph Smith | |
2007 | Urban Decay | Stan | |
2007 | Final Approach | Jack Bender | |
2008 | Ace of Hearts | Daniel Harding | |
2008 | Five Dollars a Day | Rick Carlson | |
2009 | Aussie and Ted's Great Adventure | Michael Brooks | |
2009 | Maneater | Harry | |
2010 | Circle of Pain | Wyatt | |
2010 | Abandoned | Kevin Peterson | |
2010 | Hole in One | Repo Man | |
2010 | Kill Katie Malone | Robert | |
2010 | Pure Country 2: The Gift | Music Video Director | Also co-writer with his father |
2010 | A Nanny for Christmas | Danny Donner | |
2010 | Subject: I Love You | James Trapp | |
2010 | Bed & Breakfast | Jake | |
2011 | 5 Days of War | Chris Bailot | |
2011 | Home Run Showdown | Rico Deluca | |
2011 | Dirty Little Trick | Michael | |
2011 | The Fallen | Cole | |
2011 | Latin Quarter | Appolinaire | |
2011 | Vacation | Bryce | |
2011 | The Sandy Creek Girls | Jared | |
2012 | Meant to Be | Mike | |
2013 | Heaven's Door | Leo | |
2013 | Man Camp | Luke | |
2013 | Defending Santa | Sheriff Scott Hanson | |
2014 | At the Top of the Pyramid | Jefferson Parker | |
2014 | God's Not Dead | Marc Shelley | |
2014 | The Appearing | Dr. Shaw | |
2014 | Airplane vs. Volcano | Rick Pierce | |
2014 | A Belle for Christmas | Glenn Barrows | |
2014 | Small Town Santa | Sheriff Rick Langston | |
2014 | Mind's Eye | Mark Willis | |
2014 | A Horse for Summer | Kent Walsh | |
2014 | A Dog for Christmas | Earl | |
2014 | Horse Camp | Luke | |
2015 | Vendetta | Mason Danvers | |
2015 | The Dog Who Saved Summer | Ted Stein | Direct-to-video |
2015 | Deadly Sanctuary | Roy Hollingsworth |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989-1990 | Christine Cromwell: Things That Go Bump in the Night | 2 episodes | |
1992 | A Different World | Eddie | Episode: "The Cat's in the Cradle" |
1992 | Grapevine | Brian | Episode: "The Janice and Brian Story" |
1992 | 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 | 87 episodes; writer on 2 episodes |
1995 | Off Camera with Dean Cain | Himself/Host | Also director, producer |
1996 | Cutty Whitman | Clark Kent | Uncredited |
1997 | Rag and Bone | Tony Moran | Also producer |
1998 | Futuresport | Tremaine "Tre" Ramzey | Movie |
1999-2003 | Ripley's Believe It or Not! | Himself/Host | Also producer |
1998 | Dogboys | Julian Taylor | Movie |
2000 | The Runaway | Sheriff Frank Richards | Movie |
2001 | Just Shoot Me! | Chris Williams | Episode: "Maya Stops Thinking" |
2002 | Gentle Ben | Jack Wedloe | Movie |
2002 | The Glow | Matt Lawrence | Movie |
2002 | Frasier | Rick | Episode: "We Two Kings" |
2002 | Christmas Rush | Lt. Cornelius Morgan | Movie |
2003 | Gentle Ben 2: Danger on the Mountain | Jack Wedloe | Movie |
2003-2004 | The Division | Insp. Jack Ellis | 8 episodes |
2004 | I Do (But I Don't) | Nick Corina | Movie |
2004 | The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story | Scott Peterson | Movie |
2004-2005 | Clubhouse | Conrad Dean | 11 episodes |
2005 | Mayday | Cmdr. James Slan | Movie |
2005 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dr. Mike Jergens | Episode: "Starved" |
2005 | Hope & Faith | Larry Walker | 4 episodes |
2005-2006 | Las Vegas | Casey Manning | 9 episodes |
2006 | Dead and Deader | Lt. Bobby Quinn | Movie |
2006 | 10.5: Apocalypse | Brad | Miniseries |
2006 | A Christmas Wedding | Tucker | Movie |
2007 | Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness | Bruce Murakami | Movie |
2007 | Final Approach | Jack Bender | Movie |
2007 | Hidden Camera | Dan Kovacs | Movie |
2007 | Smallville | Dr. Curtis Knox | Episode: "Cure" |
2007 | CSI: Miami | Roger Partney | Episode: "Permanent Vacation" |
2008 | Making Mr. Right | Eddie | Movie |
2009 | The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger | Shea McCall | Movie |
2009 | The Three Gifts | Jack Green | Movie |
2009 | The Dog Who Saved Christmas | Ted Stein | Movie |
2009 | Entourage | Dean Cain | Episode: "Scared Straight" |
2010 | Frost Giant | JC | Movie |
2010 | A Nanny For Christmas | Danny Donner | Movie |
2010 | The Way Home | Randy Simpkins | Nominated Ted Baehr#The Movieguide Awards Show and Report to the Entertainment Industry Movieguide Awards Most Inspiring Television Acting |
2010 | The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation | Ted Stein | Movie |
2011 | A Mile in His Shoes | Arthur "Murph" Murphy | Movie- |
2011 | Burn Notice | Ryan Pewterbaugh | Episode: "Fail Safe" |
2011 | The Dog Who Saved Halloween | Ted Stein | Movie |
2011 | The Case for Christmas | Michael Sherman | Movie |
2012 | Operation Cupcake | Griff Carson | Movie |
2012 | Criminal Minds | Curtis Banks | Episode: "Snake Eyes" |
2012 | Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 | Himself | 3 episodes |
2012 | Stars Earn Stripes | Himself | 5 episodes |
2012 | The Choice | Himself/Contestant | |
2012 | Bloopers | Himself/Host | 40 episodes |
2012 | The Dog Who Saved the Holidays | Ted Stein | Movie |
2013-Present | Hit the Floor | Pete Davenport | 23 episodes |
2013 | Texas Takedown: The Real Men in Black | Narrator | |
2014 | Merry Ex-Mas | Jessie Rogers | Movie |
2014 | Mulaney | Himself | Pilot episode |
2014 | The Dog Who Saved Easter | Ted Stein | Movie |
2015 | A Wish Come True | Himself | Movie |
2015 | The Dog Who Saved Summer | Ted Stein | Movie |
2015 | Supergirl | Jeremiah Danvers | Episodes: "Pilot", "Livewire", "Manhunter" |
2016 | The Jump | Himself | |
2016 | Lady Dynamite | Graham |
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2002 | Grandia Xtreme | Evann |
Charities
Dean Cain supports the following charitable causes: Pediatric AIDS, AIDS, Children.