Catching up with the high-flying Dean Cain

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Probably most recognized for his role as Clark Kent in the 1990s television series "Lois & Clark: the New Adventures of Superman," actor Dean Cain talks about the Japanese father who abandoned him, his freedom from routine, his son from a former relationship and dating. He stars in the Hallmark Channel original movie "Final Approach," a classic action thriller about a plane with a bomb on it, airing 8 p.m. EDT Saturday.Q: What attracted you to this Hallmark Channel project?A: I'm a big fan of the "Die Hard" kind of movies, and it's very much in that vein. I really enjoy watching those kinds of films and playing in them as well.Q: Have you ever been afraid to fly, or is that just some nasty rumor?A: That's a nasty rumor. I fly all the time. So I'm comfortable with that. I mean, if you flew with me, you'd say, "What a great flier." The truth is I think it all stems from one incident back when I was shooting "Lois & Clark" and I had to fly someplace, and I was ill. I got on the plane. I had a fever, and I sat down and I was like, you know what, this is just not going to be good. I need to get off and go lie in my bed. So I got off after they closed the door. I believe that's when it started. So I'm not afraid to fly, but I do hear it every time I go to an airport or we are about to take off: "Why are you on the airplane?" Every time.Q: Do you feel like you were branded by playing Superman?A: I guess branded in some sort but not in my head. I'm looking at different projects now, and if I do another project that is very successful they'll call me that guy. If it was (on) something like "Grey's Anatomy," I could be something like McSteamy or McDreamy.Q: Has your 7-year-old son watched your "Superman" episodes?A: Yes, he's like, "I like your Superman, Dad." He watched the film ("Superman Returns") with Brandon Routh. He preferred mine, and I much appreciated that. He's my son; he better if he knows what's good for him. (Laughs.)Q: Do you miss the routine of a regular series or are you enjoying the freedom to pick and choose?A: I do not miss the routine of a regular series at all. I love the picking and choosing. I much prefer that. There is something that's nice about the security of doing a series, but we worked way too many hours on "Lois & Clark," and I would not welcome that again into my life. There's not enough time to be a father and not enough time to have a life. My days then: I would leave my home and be home 18 hours later. Every single day. I was never home.Q: Why did you major in history at Princeton University?A: Why not? (Laughs.) You know when you are a sophomore in college, as I was, finding your discipline, your major, is sort of a needle in a haystack. I thought about politics and this, that and the other thing. But the reason I settled on history is because history is just one big story. I was always interested in historical things and people's stories.Q: Speaking of people's stories, have you ever met any of your Japanese relatives?A: You know, that's a very interesting question. I met the first of my Japanese relatives in February. It was my grandfather's brother. (Cain's grandfather had passed away, he noted, and never met him.) It was an absolute shocker to me. I'm very glad I did.Q: You had never met your father or anyone from that side of your family, correct?A: That was the very first contact. I was in the area where they live for a project, and I was doing an appearance and they came to me. They were very nice. My biological father went on camera when I was doing "Lois & Clark" and proceeded to tell lie after lie after lie. It was on "Inside Edition"; it was terrible. Nobody checked the story. He said he was in Vietnam and my mom just divorced him and he never saw it coming. The guy never served in Vietnam. It's not hard to access someone's military records. They didn't even bother. He was an adulterer.Q: And the question most female fans want to know: What is the state of your social life? Active? Dormant?A: It's active and happy.Q: So you're in a relationship?A: I didn't say that. I said I have an active and happy social life. (Laughs.) I knew you were going to ask something like that. I understand. (Laughs.)(Patricia Sheridan can be reached at psheridan(at)post-gazette.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)