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"Kent is a hack from Smallville. I couldn't
make that name up!"
 Dean Cain,
on the other hand, grew up with a different
background.
Dean
was born Dean Tanaka on July 31, 1966 in Mt. Clemens, Michigan.
He later took the last name of his adopted father, film director
Christopher Cain.
Though
he is certainly best known as an actor, Dean's career started
out on a different path. He played football while majoring in
history at Princeton, and set the NCAA record for most interceptions
in a single season. After graduating in 1988, Dean was signed
as a free safety with the Buffalo Bills. However, a knee injury
ended Dean's football career before it even began.
Dean
then turned his attention to acting. At that point, his only
acting experience was a role in his father's film, "The
Stone Boy," in 1984. Dean went on to land a few small roles
on television, most notably as Shannen Doherty's boyfriend on
"Beverly Hills 90210."
The
role that put Dean on the map, of course, was as Clark Kent
and his superheroic alter-ego on "Lois & Clark: The
New Adventures of Superman." But Dean didn't get the part
right away. The producers initially thought Dean was too young,
and he had to audition more than once to land the role. While
playing Supes, Dean got to stretch his creative wings as a writer
as well, penning fan-favorite episodes "Season's Greedings"
and "Virtually Destroyed."
In
1997, Dean broke the hearts of women everywhere when he announced
his engagement to country singer Mindy McCready. Though they
broke off their engagement a year later, Dean got the chance
to follow in his adopted father's footsteps when he directed
Mindy's music videos "You’ll Never Know" and
"The Other Side Of This Kiss."
After
Lois & Clark, Dean appeared in the movies "Best Men"
and "The Broken Hearts Club," as well as TV movies
like "Futuresport," "Gentle Ben," and "Christmas
Rush." You can currently see him on TV as the host of "Ripley's
Believe It Or Not."
Dean
also recently took on another new role... that of a father.
In June of 2000, Christopher Dean Cain was born to Dean and
his then-girlfriend, model Samantha Torres.
Dean
is often seen in public accompanied by his son. He still acts,
racking up guest shots in TV series such as "Las Vegas."
It is rumored that he may make an appearance on the WB's superhero
show "Smallville" at some point in the future.
Bio
written by Russ Dimino
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