Megacon Report - Dean Cain Panel

Dean Cain was welcomed to his MegaCon panel with a standing ovation from a very enthusiastic audience on Saturday, March 16. He began the panel by briefly discussing his current work. Right now he is filming a series for VH1, originally titled Bounce, which is now called Hit The Floor. The series is about a basketball team and its dance troupe. Dean plays a former player who returns to his old team as the head coach. After the series, he has some movies in the pipeline and then possibly another series. He said that it has been a very busy and productive year.
The discussion moved on to his role as Superman. Dean said that Christopher Reeve was his Superman growing up, and he borrowed liberally from Reeve's portrayal of the Man of Steel. But Dean's role of Clark Kent was heavily influenced by the George Reeves' version of the role, which Cain preferred.
Dean advised a young boy, who asked if it was hard to be an actor, that the answer was both yes and no. It's a lot of fun to play different people, you do a lot of traveling, and you get to see things and places you wouldn't be able to otherwise. The hard part is that an actor faces a lot of rejection when he loses roles. If an actor doesn't have the right demeanor, it can affect him. It's important to not get too disappointed after being rejected for a role.
Cain said that Lois & Clark was originally picked up for a fifth season, but Teri Hatcher, who played Lois Lane, became pregnant. Series executive producers debated if or how much they would be able to have her appear in episodes, before the final decision was made to cancel the series. Dean said that he would have loved to work Teri's pregnancy into the storyline for that season. He also wrote a number of scripts for the season, but they were mainly standalone episodes, not tied in to the season's story lines, since the producers didn't share their secrets with him.
The Superman costume was made of spandex, so on cold days Dean was very cold, but since the cape was made of wool, it helped keep him warm. In hot weather the suit was sweltering, and he sweat a lot. Of course, Superman can't sweat, so there were a lot of costume changes.
Dean talked about the many people who tell him how special it was to watch Lois & Clark with their parents while growing up. He said that he hasn't watched the show with his own son, but eventually his son watched a few episodes on Hulu. When he told his Dad that he was pretty good, Dean said, "That's what I've been trying to tell you."
When asked where he put his Clark Kent clothes, Dean joked that he folded them up and put them in his back pocket, which was hidden by the cape.
In his career, Dean hasn't turned down a role which later became a big hit. There have been times when he has been under contract, like with Lois & Clark, and been unavailable for a role. Dean described himself as a member of the Michael Caine school of acting. His job is to act, and he enjoys doing many roles. The only down side to that is that, as a single father, he doesn't like to be away from home for long periods of time.
Cain admitted to being a doting father, especially during the childhood injuries that happen. His own father was always around, and Dean wants his own son to have the same thing.
Dean talked about the upcoming film, Man of Steel. With Christopher Nolan producing and Henry Cavill playing Superman, Cain thought that the movie would be great, although he doesn't have any inside information about the production. He met Cavill at the premiere of the film, Immortals. Dean said that he is about six feet tall, but Henry is about 6' 4", and in very good shape. Cain found him to be a really humble guy, and someone who has the right sensibility to play Superman. Dean admitted that the new Superman suit looked odd without the red trunks.
In regards to Superman Returns, Dean said that Brandon Routh is a friend and a great actor who was a great Superman, but he found the movie missed the mark in some areas. To him, it felt like two films in one, and he wondered about some of the choices they made during the production.
Dean always enjoys the many cosplayers at the shows he attends, especially those dressed as Superman. At DragonCon in Atlanta, some of them looked so good in a Superman suit that Cain felt they could put him out of a job. He also said he enjoys nerd and geek culture, and is a gamer himself.
He was asked about the evolution of the Superman uniform in Lois & Clark, and which one was his favorite. Dean said that while he liked the black costume he wore in one episode, the one that was eventually settled on was his favorite. Developing the costume was a long process, with many cooks in the kitchen so to speak. The cape also was difficult to get right, making sure it flowed well during the flying scenes. The first version of the cape was a nightmare to work with, Dean said.
As a student of Hollywood history, Cain enjoyed all of the guest stars who appeared on Lois & Clark, like Tony Curtis. His favorite guest star would have to be Raquel Welch, who kissed him in one scene. She was one of his Dad's favorite actresses, so he called him after the scene to tell him that Raquel Welch had just kissed him. Dean said that he thought his Dad hung up on him. The only thing that could have topped it would have been if Anne Margaret, another of his Father's favorite actresses, would have appeared on the show.
An older gentleman in the audience said that he had met Kirk Alyn (who played Superman in the 1940's movie serials), and thought that Dean was a better Superman. He also told Dean that he enjoyed seeing him in the show Las Vegas. Dean said that he loved shooting that show, and enjoyed all of the guest stars who appeared. The show creator developed a new pilot titled, Protect & Serve, and Dean left Vegas to work on the pilot. It wasn't picked up by any network, and then he wasn't able to return to Vegas. His character on the show would eventually be killed by a giant squid, which can only happen in Hollywood or Vegas.
A lady in the audience said that she enjoyed the scene in the Lois & Clark pilot where he tried all of the other superhero costumes. Dean said that it was a whirlwind filming the pilot, and he thought that it was a funny scene. It was the first time he wore the complete Superman costume, which of course was his favorite of all of the costumes he wore in that scene.
Working with younger actors at this point of his career, with social media so prevalent, Dean has at times advised them to ignore both good and bad reviews. He's seen how social media can affect their emotions with bad reviews. Dean said that family helps keep an actor grounded.
When asked if he thought that Superman worked better on TV and Batman was a better fit in the movies, Dean disagreed. He thought the first two Christopher Reeve films were great. The first Batman movie was more humorous than the others, which became increasingly darker. He hopes Man of Steel reenergizes the Superman film franchise.
Dean was asked if he regretted not having a pro football career. He said that he loves watching the game on Sunday, but finds that he's glad he didn't have to take the big hits. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills and injured his knee in training camp. Dean finally realized there was no going back to football during the filming of Lois & Clark. He's amazed that a lot of his friends from his playing days are now football coaches. Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas was a rookie when Dean was the Bills' training camp, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years ago. Dean said that he used to think that the inductees in their yellow jackets were old guys.
He told the story about being an honorary captain for a game against the Miami Dolphins (which happens to be my favorite NFL team). During the game, Bills receiver Andre Reed took a big hit preventing him from making a first down. After he walked back to the sideline, he stood by Dean as he shook off the hit and asked how to get into that acting thing.
Dean was asked if he preferred playing heroes or villains. He said that being a guest star villain was always fun. Guest stars on TV shows are bad guys a lot of the time, since the heroes are the stars of the show. One of his fun roles as a villain was on Criminal Minds.
He credited the writers for developing the give and take between Lois and Clark on the TV show. He wished he could take credit for it, but it was all on the writers.
When asked if he had any guilty pleasures, Dean said that he enjoys the Investigation Discovery channel, especially the series The First 48, because he finds that truth is always stranger than fiction.
There were not many scary times while filming Lois & Clark, except maybe watching Teri Hatcher have to swallow frogs in one episode. Some episodes were harder to do than others. Dean had the most fun at the Daily Planet while playing Clark Kent. It felt like home. The only scary time was when he worked with a tiger in one episode. He was told never to look a tiger in the eye, because they perceived it as a challenge. During one scene the tiger wasn't looking at him as the scene required, so Dean quietly whistled at the tiger and their eyes met. The tiger lifted one side of his upper lip, exposing his teeth and let out a small growl.
The toughest part of the show was the flying scenes, because he was connected to wires at the hips and had to stretch his arms and legs out and hold the pose while fans blew air at him in front of a green screen. It was a little more fun when he was hooked up to a moving rig, but a few times he ran into some of the studio equipment. When she was hooked up to the flying rig, Teri Hatcher would be reduced to tears because it would be so painful. Not many actors can do the flying rig well. He said that it's gotten better with CGI, and Spider-Man doesn't need to do anything anymore, the CGI does the work for him.
The panel's final question came from a young lady who asked what is required to become an actor. Dean said that it's hard, for one reason because nepotism is still alive and well in Hollywood. It helps to know someone. Social media has become an equalizer. With social media sites like YouTube it's easier to get your name out in the public. Dean recommended making short films and posting them online, taking classes and following your heart. He said that when he was in college, he had one instructor who hated Hollywood, but Dean loved it, so they would have conflicts. Dean said he's written over thirty scripts without taking a screenwriting course, because since his Father was a director, he grew up around it. Dean stressed that it was important to believe in yourself because of the rejection an actor faces, and don't take no for an answer.
Dean Cain was very personable. He had a very down to earth presence and connected well with the audience with a great sense of humor. Any chance to listen to him talk about his career is something not to be passed up. Hopefully, he'll return to MegaCon.