Interview: Actor Dean Cain talks ‘The Three Dogateers,’ ‘Lois & Clark,’ and more

Actor Dean Cain recently spoke to the Chico Movie Examiner about his new film, “The Three Dogateers,” which released to DVD on Nov. 18. Cain is best known for his work in “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” and he can currently be seen in the VH1 series, “Hit the Floor.”

In his new film, Cain plays Matt, a man who has to get everything ready for Christmas before his wife gets home. However, he then receives a call from his employer, who tells him he has to make a business trip to one of his company’s biggest buyers. The trip is a 14-hour drive, and Matt’s wife is expected to be home soon. But Matt doesn’t want to get fired, so he drops all of his plans and hits the road.

After he leaves, thieves break into his home and steal his Christmas tree and all of the presents. That’s when the Three Dogateers step in and set out to retrieve the stolen goods before their owners get home.

Cain talks about what he loves so much about Christmas; what other literary characters he would like to see in dog form; which of the dogs in the film best represents the dogs he owns in real life; and a lot more in this exclusive interview. Check it out below.

David Wangberg: I was looking at your filmography, and I noticed that you’ve done maybe 15 Christmas movies including this one and a couple others you have coming out soon. And you’ve been given the title Mr. Christmas by a lot of people. Out of curiosity, have there been any Christmas movies that you’ve rejected mainly because you didn’t want to star in them?

Dean Cain: Absolutely not! Well, no, that’s not true. Yes, there have been. There were some that didn’t fit in schedule-wise. There are a million different reasons why I wouldn’t do one [including] location, schedule conflict, money, [and] content. I mean, there are a lot of reasons. I have said no to some.

I started producing some of my own. But the thing is, even back when I was on “Lois & Clark,” the first episode I ever wrote of “Lois & Clark” was a Christmas episode. I just love Christmas. I love the holiday; there’s just something about it that gets to me. It’s my favorite time of the year, and I really enjoy making movies about it.

DW: Cool. So, is it something unexplainable that you like about Christmas, or can you actually explain it to people?

DC: No. For me, with Christmas, people can call it for whatever tradition they believe whether they believe it’s the birth of Christ or whatever. For me, as more of a cultural and familial thing, it’s about family; it’s about community; it’s about a little bit of magic and a whole lot of love. And those are the things that I always will embrace, and I think it’s universal, and I think that’s what makes that season so special for me. I’ve had all of my family together for almost every single Christmas of my life.

DW: Now, like you were saying, you did a couple episodes of “Lois & Clark” that were Christmas episodes. If you were approached today and someone said, “Hey, we want you to make another Superman Christmas special,” would you do it?

DC: Listen. With “Lois & Clark,” we didn’t get to finish out our fifth year. We were going to shoot a fifth year. Terri [Hatcher] got pregnant and was not able to work, so we weren’t able to shoot that last season. I feel like we have some unfinished business. I’d love to finish out something on “Lois & Clark” whether it’s Christmas or some other time of the year. But it would be fitting if it did end around Christmas time, I’ll tell you.

DW: Yeah. Now, “The Three Dogateers,” your new film, the characters are obviously a spoof on the Alexandre Dumas characters. What other classic, literary characters would you like to see in dog form?

DC: [laughs] That’s a great question, David! That is fantastic! Well, you know… wow! That is a hell of a question!

I think I’d love to see Zorro in dog form. I think that would be a lot of fun. I think it would be a lot more difficult to get into any sort of Shakespeare type characters and do too much dog stuff. I think definitely Zorro, even though “zorro” means “fox” in Spanish. Maybe you could do it with a fox, I don’t know. [laughs]

DW: [laughs] Well, they did have Zorro in cat form, kind of, with “Puss in Boots,” so why not dog form?

DC: Absolutely, because it was the same actor who played Zorro, so you kind of get that Zorro feeling, too. No doubt about it.

DW: You’ve worked with a lot of people over the years like Terri Hatcher on “Lois & Clark” and all of the people in “Rat Race.” Which of your previous co-stars would you like to see in a dog version?

DC: In a dog version? Well, Terri Hatcher, I still think, is the best Lois Lane of all time. But she was so good with comedy, and she had such great comedic timing. And, obviously, she had the chance to show a lot of that on “Desperate Housewives,” so that was great. But she also does a lot of voices, so I think she could very, very easily voice several voices in dog form. I would certainly love to see her do that; there’s no doubt about it.

DW: Your character, Matt, has to rush out of the house for a business trip shortly before Christmas – and he has to toss aside whatever plans he had to set the place up before his wife gets home. Has that ever happened to you? Have you had to just toss aside whatever you’re doing in order to go work on a film or a TV show or whatever?

DC: Oh, constantly. Constantly! There have been all kinds of stuff like that. And that’s especially with just being a parent. Just being a parent, you always have to toss aside things. But I’ve had – oh, man – I’ve had to toss aside things and jump to get something taken care of. I could get a phone call tomorrow saying, “You got a plane to France tomorrow; you gotta go shoot this film.” It’s happened a lot.

And, as an actor, that’s gotta be your life. And you… boom! You go get on it as fast as you can. Because, as an actor, sometimes the getting is good; sometimes it’s not so good. If you get some great opportunities, you’ve got to drop everything and go. And I’ve certainly done that before. I always travel with my passport and all of my belongings and things.

I remember shooting a movie in Texas and the next thing I knew, I was leaving Texas and going to the Republic of Georgia. From there, [I went] to Vietnam, and from Vietnam, I think I went all the way back to, I think, New York – I forgot where I went – and then I finally came home to Los Angeles. That was a surprise. [laughs] That was definitely a surprise, but that does happen a lot as an actor. That’s the life of an actor.

DW: So, when you were first acting and doing all of this, was that a little hard to take in, and did you just get used to it over time?

DC: My dad’s a director, so I grew up watching it happen to him and watching him living up on sets and things. That’s why I got good at traveling and sort of creating a home base. When I travel somewhere, I set up. I get as comfortable as I can. And you’re going to be there for a while, and you just gotta set up. I got used to doing that. I’ve done that pretty much my entire life, since I’ve been around that and living that sort of way.

That was not a big change for me. I gotta be honest; it really wasn’t a big change. Even as a football player, in college and things, you’re taking all of these trips. And you move in – it’s a business trip. You come in, you’re going to do your job, and then you get out. It’s not a big change for me.

DW: Well, actually, speaking of football, I saw the TMZ interview you did where you said that the Dallas Cowboys were going all the way. So, I was wondering, if they do go all the way, who would you like to see them face?

DC: Woohoo! Well, it’s going to have to be an AFC team. It could be anybody. I think New England looks great; they always look great. Kansas City’s going to sneak it in there, too. Denver is a good team. What I don’t want… if I get Denver playing Dallas, I’m kind of screwed because I love both teams. And I’m like, “Oh, no.” I’ll just go bet $20 bucks on each team and somehow win one of the bets. [laughs] I wouldn’t even know what to do.

So, hopefully, it’ll be a team that I don’t like very much so I can really root for my one squad. I really don’t know. The two teams from the NFC I’m really rooting for right now are Detroit – where I was born, and my buddy’s a GM for Detroit – and then the Cowboys because I’ve always loved the Cowboys, and my buddy’s the head coach of the Cowboys.

DW: I’m a 49ers fan, so I’m kind of hoping they pull through and do something well, but we’ll see. [laughs]

DC: They are in a tough predicament right now; it’s brutal. They got a long way to go to get there.

DW: Yeah, they do. They do.

So, I like how, in this movie, the three dogs are all different types of dogs. There’s the one who’s the leader and protector of the place; there’s the one who’s spoiled; and there’s the one just constantly thinks about food.

DC: [laughs]

DW: So, which one of these best describes your dog?

DC: Well, I’ll tell you what. I have a black lab and a golden retriever. And they’re so specific in their personalities. The black lab is a dominant character, and all she thinks about is food. She’s a lover, and she’s sweet. You can’t scare her; you can’t do anything to make her run away; and she’s a buzz saw of energy. So, she’s kind of insane. I’ve always had dogs, and she’s one of my favorite dogs of all time.

The other one, the golden retriever, is the boy. But he’s skiddish; he’s scared of everything. Loud noises, a strange person, or anything, he just bolts. But then he runs over to your feet. [They are] very specific characters. If I had to say any of my dogs were like any of the characters [in the movie], I would say my black lab is the one who only thinks about food. If it was up to her, she would eat herself to death. If I didn’t control what she ate, she would eat herself to death.

DW: This is my last question for you. I know you are part of the Wizard World Comic Con tour, and you were just over in Tulsa for their convention.

DC: Yes.

DW: Is there any chance we can get you to come out to Sacramento for next year’s convention?

DC: Absolutely. I wanted to go to Sacramento, but I forgot why I couldn’t go. I know loosely when Sacramento’s convention is. But those Wizard World guys are great. I should have it right up here. Wait a minute.

DW: I think it’s in June – toward the end of June.

DC: I’ll be able to tell you, my friend. Let’s see. Where is Sacramento? Oh, I don’t even see it. Wait a minute. New Orleans, Portland, Madison, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Chicago, Raleigh… I don’t see a Wizard World for Sacramento, so… huh.

DW: It’s for June of 2015, so it’s not going to be for another couple of months.

DC: Right, but I’m looking – I see a Des Moines one in June of 2015. This is not their official list, though.

DW: Ah, OK.

DC: I’m looking at a list that somebody else sent me; that’s probably why. I’ve been once to Sacramento; I had a great time up there. I would do a second [trip] again, absolutely. But I don’t know the answer at this point and time. My son’s birthday is in June, so that’s always a tough time.

Editor’s note: After this interview was conducted, it was discovered that the Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con is scheduled for June 19-21 in 2015.