Whatever Happened To Dean Cain?

Dean Cain is one of a select few who have had the honor to play Superman on the big and small screen. While more famous actors have worn the iconic "S" on their chests, including Christopher Reeve, Henry Cavill, and Tom Welling, Cain is beloved by fanboys and girls for showing a softer, gentler side to the "Man of Steel" in the television show Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. 

The ABC show (which ran for four seasons 2003-2007) took a fresh, tongue-in-cheek approach to the DC Comics superhero, which allowed Cain to play to his boyishly handsome strengths. While the former NFL player had the muscles to fill out the blue spandex costume, the Princeton grad seemed more comfortable playing the affable and earnest Kent, engaging in screwball comedy antics with co-star Teri Hatcher (Lois Lane). Unlike Hatcher who went onto bigger stardom with Desperate Housewives, Cain never parlayed his breakout role to higher fame, although he has managed to carve out a long-spanning, workmanlike career since hanging up his red cape. 

Superman doesn't need a gun, he's faster than a speeding bullet. Dean Cain wouldn't hesitate using a gun to stop a bad guy. The conservative actor tweeted that he's "a lifelong member" of the National Rifle Association (NRA) who firmly believes in the 2nd Amendment aka "the right to bare arms." In an interview on The Morning Show, Cain explained that he "absolutely" believes that "gun violence is a problem" but doesn't think that more gun control is the solution. "I worry about my son when he goes to school because I know it's a gun-free zone and I know that if someone came in with a firearm there's nobody there to stop him," explains Cain. "I would love to have a conceal-carry permit because I'd like to be the person who would stop somebody in that situation."

Cain, who has hinted at a possible political office run over the years, finally pulled the trigger on possible policy-shaping when he was voted onto the NRA Board of Directors in 2018. Cain isn't the first celebrity to join the exclusive NRA group, which in the past has included: actor Tom Selleck, rocker Ted Nugent, former NASCAR driver Richard Childress, and Hall-of-Fame basketball player Karl Malone.  

Most of us will always identify Dean Cain not as a bird or a plane, but as Superman. However, his legacy will probably go down as the super man of Christmas movies. Since Lois and Clark was grounded by ABC in 1997, the prolific actor has made over 100 movies. Over a dozen of those films are Christmas movies which have a special place in his heart. "[It's a Wonderful Life] just gets me," Cain revealed while hosting the CW channel special The Top 12 Greatest Christmas Movies of All Time (via the Gwinnett Daily Post). "It may be the greatest Christmastime film I've ever seen... and it has nothing to do with Christmas but everything to do with that time of the year. It's not a Christmas story but it is, and I just adore it."

Cain's made-for-television movies are more about quantity than quality with bargain bin titles like The Case For Christmas, A Christmas Wedding, The Three Dogateers Save Christmas, Merry Ex-Mas, etc. While Cain will never sniff Oscar gold for starring opposite a dog voiced by Mario Lopez in The Dog Who Saved Christmas, these merry movies will keep giving actors like Cain, Candace Cameron Bure, and Melissa Joan Hart regular work because they're ratings gifts that keep on giving. In fact, according to Slanted, these holiday offerings from The Hallmark Channel are so dominant with certain demographics, they even inspired rival networks to compete with similar programming.   

Dean Cain doesn't just fight crime on television. The actor was sworn in as a reserve officer with the Saint Anthony Police Department in Idaho in 2018. Referring to himself as having "always been a man of action," Cain told the The Daily Caller that he had always felt "a kind of kinship with military, law enforcement, and first responders" and wanted to contribute. "Real heroes don't wear capes," explained Cain. "Real superheroes wear uniforms and badges and stethoscopes!"

According to the Idaho State Journal, Sheriff Officer Dean Cain isn't just an honorary title. As part of his official duties as a part-time lawman, Cain will be teaming up with former CHiPs star, and fellow Idaho State Police reserve officer, Erik Estrada to "help combat online predators and bullying" for the "All About Kids" initiative. Now that sounds like a reality television show we would like to watch. "Nothing could be more important than being here," Cain told the Journal. "This is a wonderful opportunity. It's great to be here with the guys and to put on this uniform."

On Lois & Clark, Dean Cain battled a rogues gallery of Superman villains including Deathstroke, Toyman, and Lex Luthor, but in 2014 he faced his biggest adversary with 10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty, a reality television show featuring big-game hunters tracking down the "seemingly mythical Sasquatch". The show made headlines for offering $10 million in cash, underwritten by Lloyd's of London, which would have been "the biggest cash prize in television history" at the time, according to the Los Angeles Times. The show aired on Spike for one season with no one claiming the prize. 

Cain had more success with his first reality TV hosting gig on Ripley's Believe It or Not! which ran for four seasons (2000 to 2003) on TBS. Although he's not involved in the 2019 reboot with Bruce Campbell taking over as host, Cain graciously tweeted his blessing. In an interview with LifeZette, Cain added, "No clue how they'll do the next version, but I know and really like Bruce, so I'm rooting for him and the show to be awesome!"

In addition to reality TV hosting, Cain has also been a contestant on NBC's Stars Earn Stripes where "celebrities compete in military-inspired challenges to win $100,000 for a veteran or foundation of their choice," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Cain was paired with Navy Seal Chris Kyle (subject of Clint Eastwood's American Sniper) and finished third behind WWE's Eve Torres and Olympic gold medalist skier Picabo Street. 

Dean Cain is an unabashed President Trump supporter, which detractors love to point out is seemingly ironic considering Superman was from another planet (Krypton), and crashed landed onto Earth making him arguably an "illegal immigrant". Although the Princeton grad is part of a small group of Hollywood conservatives (Clint Eastwood, James Woods, Gary Sinise) he's one of the most outspoken, especially on Twitter where he got into a publicized beef with Tom Arnold. 

The Roseanne actor called out Cain for his 2018 appearance at the Values Voter Summit, hosted by conservative christian group The Family Research Council. "@RealDeanCain is another @realDonaldTrump loving fake Christian coward which makes Dean Cain anti-LGBTQ & racist," Arnold tweeted. Cain not only replied "Tom, you're a cowardly, slanderous weasel," but confronted Arnold in real-life. 

According The Hollywood Reporter, Cain got up in Arnold's grill backstage at Larry King Now. "I've always supported gay rights," Cain said in the phone-recorded video. "You're giving me guilt by association and that's wrong." Things got heated but the beef was squashed after they "hugged it out." However, the two actors continued their war of words with Cain later tweeting that Arnold "backed down" when confronted. The True Lies star saw it differently, telling THR, "He played this icon, Superman, but he's an idiot. If he wanted to fight, I took my glasses off for him. He's a f***ing p***y. Next time I see him we'll get it going and his buddy can film it."

Dean Cain has never been married, but he has been linked to a number of leading ladies. While attending Princeton, the Ivy league college football star dated classmate Brooke Shields for two years. The Blue Lagoon star revealed in her autobiography, There Was a Little Girl, that she lost her virginity to Cain when she was 22. Shields writes that the two were "instantly crazy" about each other, "always holding hands and trying to find ways to be alone and kiss, but poor guy, I made him wait." After finally consummating their love, Shields became so overwhelmed that she "kind of tumbled off [her bed] and started running," she writes in her memoir. "I was buck naked streaking down the hallway and running like I had just stolen someone's wallet." 

The closest Cain came to walking down the aisle was with country star Mindy McCready who committed suicide in 2013. "It's just tragic," Cain told People of his former fiancé (they broke up a year after they started seeing each other in 1997). "All her troubles were self-inflicted. She was a tremendous talent but everything about it was a waste."

The lifelong bachelor does have a son Christopher (above) with former flame, Playboy Playmate Samantha Torres. "I think he's my favorite human being on the planet," Cain revealed to ABC News. "My best day would be just to wake up ... having no plans and hanging out with my son."

Dean Cain remained a part of the Superman mythos with a special guest role in a season seven episode of Smallville as the immortal Dr. Curtis Knox. He also had a recurring role on Supergirl, as the title character's foster father, Dr. Jeremiah Danvers. Aside from these fringe roles, Cain dreams of donning the red cape again alongside former Lois & Clark co-star Teri Hatcher, who, as fate would have it, also appeared in Supergirl. "The possibilities are endless," said Cain at a New York Comic Con panel when asked about a potential show revival. "I would love to see what Lois and Clark are up to (now). 

The storyline could very easily pick right up with the show's cliffhanger ending which had "a mysterious child was dropped off at the married couple's door." Both actors eagerly offered varied takes on the their reunion show dream, while Hatcher admitted that she's made some inquiries at Warner Bros but "It's a complicated sell because they have their own plan for the superheroes." Cain added a zinger, "Maybe that's why Marvel is kicking their butts in the movies these days." He's obviously not a fan of the recent Superman movies, confessing in a 2018 interview that the new DC film universe is too dark and "the angst and the lack [of] humor and romance that has me scratching my head."