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The Guy In The 'Clubhouse'

Dean Cain made his name playing Superman on the hit series "Lois and Clark." Now he's making another boyhood dream come true as he plays a star baseball player on the new CBS drama "Clubhouse" Tuesdays at 9 p.m., 8 Central.

He stars with Jeremy Sumpter, Mare Winningham, Christopher Lloyd, Kirsten Storms and John Ortiz in the drama series, which is about a 16-year-old boy who becomes a man in a world of overgrown boys when he takes a job as a batboy for a professional baseball team.

Cain tells The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm that he agreed to do the show after the grueling, 18-hour-a-day schedule of "Lois and Clark" because it was an ensemble cast.

"Being on this cast allows you a life, and I have a 4-year-old son and I could never be a father to him doing those hours, those 18 hours. So now I work a couple days a week. I play baseball. I hang out with Christopher Lloyd. I have a great time."

Cain says he played baseball for 11 years, which helps make the playing on the show authentic. "We really play," he says. "My timing has to be on for my swing. I know a lot of people out there who play baseball, who are going to watch it, and if it's not good, they're going to destroy me, so we really take great care in our baseball playing."

"One of the things you miss so much as an athlete is the camaraderie you have with the teammates. We have that. We have a team, so it's really nice, and nice to have that group of friends and that core group of guys that you're playing with all of the time. It's wonderful."

Cain says his job as an actor confuses his son. In addition to Cain's role as Superman, "He'll see me play baseball in full uniform with a full crowd and then he'll see me play baseball on the weekends wearing an NBA uniform with referees and the crowd again and he'll watch me be a fireman. I just was a fireman in this other film."

"So he's really confused. I've screwed up my kid, in that sense."

Fact Facts About Dean Cain:

  • Born Dean George Tanaka in Mount Clemens, Mich., on July 31, 1966
  • Attended Princeton University (1988)
  • Held NCAA record for the most interceptions in one season; captain of the volleyball team
  • Has a son, Christopher Dean Cain, born June 11, 2000; mother, Samantha Torres; Cain shares joint custody with Torres.
  • Played Superman in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" (ABC, 1993-97)
  • Made his TV debut in "In Vino Veritas", a two-hour entry in the "Christine Cromwell" series on "The ABC Saturday Mystery"
  • Had TV guest spots on "Life Goes On", "Grapevine" and "A Different World"
  • Recurring character Rick (Brenda's summer love interest) on "Beverly Hills, 90210" that Cain first received notice.
  • Hosted early reality-based series "Off Camera With Dean Cain" (1995), following actors and athletes in their off hours
  • Hosted "Ripley's Believe It or Not" (1999)
  • Joined cast of Lifetime's popular TV crime drama "The Division" in 2003
  • Appeared as a bitter, failed one-time football star opposite Denzel Washington in director Carl Franklin's crime thriller "Out of Time" (2003)
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