Who are Dean Cain’s parents? Actor recalls racist backlash following Superman casting

Actor Dean Cain, who is most famous for playing Superman in the ABC series, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman during the 90s, recently spoke about facing racist attitudes after he was cast as the superhero.

Dean Cain was born in 1966 to Japanese American Roger Tanaka and his first wife, Sharon Thomas. Cain has always been open about being part Asian, according to Goldsea. He changed his last name to Cain when his mother’s second husband, Christopher Cain, adopted both Dean and his older brother Roger, as per the aforementioned outlet.

In 2014, Cain mentioned his biological father while speaking to ABC News and said:

“My biological father is Japanese. I never knew him, never met him. My original given name was Tanaka, but when my mom remarried when I was 4, I took his name, which is Cain.”

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Dean Cain (@deuces1966)

 

Dean Cain on his racial identity and the backlash he faced over the years

During a recent conversation with Variety, Dean Cain opened up about being cast as Superman and the racial prejudice he faced at the time. He said,

“It was 1993 and I remember a fan going, ‘We wanted Superman, not Sushi Man’”

Cain also candidly spoke about the markers of his own identity, and slammed people who have accused him over the years of trying to hide the heritage of his origin. According to Variety, he said,

“Tanaka is my given name, and it’s funny that people are like, ‘Well, you tried to hide that.’ It’s tattooed on my ankle. My family was interred in the Minidoka internment camp in Idaho. That was a horrible injustice, but I don’t think that I deserve any sort of reparations.”

Despite being the first Asian Superman, Cain has been open about his opinion on identity politics, particularly arguing how the concept of “firsts” in Hollywood is overrated, as per the publication.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Dean Cain (@deuces1966)

Continuing, Cain gave insight into his thoughts on the consideration of race in casting for roles while speaking to Variety, and added,

“For the love of God, he’s a Kryptonian. He could be green. Does it matter?”

He also told the magazine that he would love seeing Creed actor Michael B. Jordan as the superhero because he:

“has all the qualities of Superman — that humility, that kindness, that openness, that earnestness.”

 

About Dean Cain’s parents and family life

Dean Cain’s mother Sharon divorced his birth father, Roger Tanaka before Cain was born. As per Goldsea, Cain has spoken about his birth father, and as per Goldsea, said,

“He's not the kind of man I want to be. He was an unfaithful husband and not much of a father.”

Cain’s adoptive father, Christopher was a director and producer in Hollywood, and the family lived in Malibu, according to Variety.

People Magazine notes that Cain honored his adoptive father Christopher by naming his own son after him.

The home where Cain grew up with his family was destroyed during the Los Angeles fires in early 2025. Sharing a video of the wreckage of his childhood home to X, Cain wrote,

“Here is footage of my old house that my sister sent me.   My parents built it.  Sorry Mama + Papa, and so many others.”

 

Here is footage of my old house that my sister sent me. My parents built it. Sorry Mama + Papa, and so many others. 💔 pic.twitter.com/2Xys0Wkrrl

— Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) January 15, 2025

During a conversation with Fox News in January, Cain also shared that his mother had an emotional reaction to the news of her former home burning, and said,

“The house they built from the ground up… is gone to the ground…My mom's been crying for two days.”

Dean Cain now lives in Nevada with his son, who was born to him and model Samantha Torres in 2000, as per People Magazine.