Happy Birthday! Dean Cain Turns 50 Years Old

Happy birthday, Dean Cain! Today, the actor is celebrating his 50th birthday!

Born in Michigan, the actor was born to parents Roger Tanaka and Sharon Thomas until they split. Then was then adopted by Christopher Cain, his mother's second husband. The family moved to Malibu where the actor was raised, and Cain found himself growing increasingly attracted to sports as he grew up. Graduating from Princeton University, Cain went on to sign on as a free agent for the Buffalo Bills before a knee injury sidelined him. However, the tragic injury led Cain to actively pursue a career in acting.

Booking dozens of commercials, Cain received his big break when he was cast as Superman in the show Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Rather than focusing on Superman's action-driven story lines, the show centered around Clark Kent's relationship with Lois Lane. Terri Hatcher was cast as Lois, and the show aired on ABC from 1993-1997. The show was very successful, and at the height of its popularity, the series pulled in about 15 million viewers.

Cain then went on to work on shows such as Ripley's Believe It or Not! and starred in films like The Broken Hearts Club and Out of Time. Most recently, Cain has appeared in a reoccurring role on Smallville as Dr. Cutis Knox and Supergirl as Kara/Supergirl's foster father. Cain has also revisited his Superman roots in Kevin Smith's Comic Book Men in an episode where the crew spends time celebrating the hero's 75th anniversary.

Happy birthday, Cain. We hope it's great - like up, up, and away awesome!