Dean Cain

Born: 31 July 1966
Where: Mt Clemens, Michegan, USA

The former professional footballer is probably best known for his portrayal of Superman in the American TV series Lois and Clark: The Adventures of Superman.

Big screen appearances have included Rat Race alongside John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson and Carl Franklin's noirish thriller Out of Time.

His mother actress Sharon Thomas married his adoptive father, director Christopher Cain; when Cain was three.

Though he grew up in Malibu and attended Santa Monica High School, his career plans favored professional football over acting.

While at Princeton, he completed a history degree, dated Brooke Shields for two years, but a professional career with the Buffalo Bulls was dashed by a knee injury.

Though he had already played a part in his father's The Stone Boy, he had to take the usual route of commercials and TV parts until being cast in Superman.

Concentrating on TV work, he still appear in big screen outings such as Best Men, Eating Las Vegas and the hit independent movie The Broken Hearts Club.

His first high profile role was Rat Race and subsequent roles included Phase IV, New Alcatraz and Dark Descent.

Recent work includes the cuckolded husband in Out of Time opposite Denzel Washington and the sci-fi adventure PI: Post Impact.