Dean Cain (born July 31, 1966) is an American actor, known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman in the American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Biography

Early life

Cain was born Dean George Tanaka in Mount Clemens, Michigan, the son of actress Sharon Thomas and U.S. Army serviceman Roger Tanaka, who divorced before he was born. Cain is of Japanese (from his paternal grandfather), French Canadian, Irish and Welsh descent.It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Hunk!; `Lois & Clark's' Dean Cain, Flying the Friendly Skies His last name, Tanaka, is a Japanese family name. In 1969,www.filmreference.com/film/15/Christopher-Cain.html Cain's mother married film director Christopher Cain, who adopted Dean and his brother (musician Roger Cain), and the family moved to Malibu, California. The couple later had a daughter, Dean's half-sister, actress Krisinda Cain who also attended Santa Monica High.

At Santa Monica High School, Cain 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 classmates. Cain graduated 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 (Defensive Back) on the football team, where he had 12 interceptions in a single season. He was also a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity and the Cap & Gown eating club. While at Princeton, he dated actress Brooke Shields, who was one year ahead of him at the university. Cain graduated from Princeton in 1988 with a BA in History; his senior thesis was titled "The History and Development of the Functions of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences."