LISTEN: Tatiana Siegel Sits Down With Trump-Loving Superman Alum Dean Cain; Disney, NBCU and Fox Wrap the Upfront Haggle

He’s spent a lot of time in blue tights. He’s embraced Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. And he has a healthy sense of humor about himself.

All of these things refer to actor Dean Cain, the “Lois & Clark” alum who is the subject of a profile penned by Tatiana Siegel in this week’s edition of Variety. On the latest episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, Siegel dishes on the experience of sitting down with the actor at his home in Las Vegas to discuss his career, the legacy of playing Superman and how the industry has reacted to his full-throated support for Trump.

“He was very earnest and candid. He also has a lot of confidence and doesn’t really seem to worry about ‘Will I be a pariah in Hollywood for being a Trump supporter,’ ” Siegel observes. When she reached out to those who have worked with Cain over the years, such as multihyphenate Greg Berlanti, who directed Cain and Timothy Olyphant in 2000’s “The Broken Hearts Club,” there was no hesitancy to talk about him. “The people that I called for secondary voices [in the story] like Greg Berlanti, they got right on the phone,” Siegel says.

Cain in recent years has devoted himself to directing, starring and producing faith-based films that are produced and financed outside of mainstream Hollywood studios.

“It’s sort of a parallel universe that operates almost like right near Hollywood, but not quite in Hollywood,” Siegel says. “It’s a vibrant community of people who make these type of movies and it’s becoming more and more of an economic force, if you look at like ‘The Chosen.’ So it’s not to be dismissed.”

Also in the episode, Brian Steinberg, senior TV editor, takes the measure of the upfront ad sales marketplace as Disney, NBCUniversal and Fox wrap their dealmaking. This year more than ever, big advertisers with big marketing budgets are chasing sports, sports and more sports. That’s been the saving grace for the Big Four broadcast networks which are still home to the biggest leagues and franchises.

“In the streaming era, it’s much harder to find big audiences all watching the same thing at the same time,” Steinberg says. “That’s what your big advertisers like Pizza Hut and McDonald’s and Nike — that’s they want. It’s harder to make a make a dollar off your advertising if you’re trying to find your consumer streaming this here and streaming that there. So sports and live events and award shows and other kinds of specials are what really drive currency now, and drive interest.”

(Pictured: Dean Cain in “Lois & Clark”)

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