Dean Cain, who played Clark Kent/Superman on the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, says he is joining ICE.
The actor declared his intentions to join the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency during an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday (August 6).
“I’m actually … a sworn deputy sheriff and a reserve police officer. I wasn’t part of ICE, but once I put that [recruitment video] out there and you put a little blurb on your show, it went crazy. So now I’ve spoken with some officials over at ICE and I will be sworn in as an ICE agent ASAP,” Cain told Watters.
For context, earlier this week the actor shared one of the agency’s recruitment posts on his social media.
Cain, who identifies as conservative and has voiced his support for President Donald Trump’s controversial policies, said he “truly believes this is the right thing” and called the U.S. immigration system “broken.”
“This country was built on patriots stepping up, whether it was popular or not, and doing the right thing … Congress needs to fix it, but in the interim, President Trump ran on this. He is delivering on this. This is what people voted for. It’s what I voted for and he’s going to see it through, and I’ll do my part and help make sure it happens,” Cain said.
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Cain starred as Superman alongside actress Teri Hatcher, who played Lois Lane, on the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. The show aired on ABC between 1993 and 1997.
Cain’s comments have stirred controversy among many fans considering Superman’s roots as an undocumented immigrant.
Superman, AKA Kal-El, famously arrives on Earth as a baby refugee after surviving the destruction of his home planet, Krypton. He is taken in by a couple living in a small rural town in Kansas, who keep his identity safe after discovering he has extraordinary powers, which he later uses to fight for justice and help humanity.
Back in July, just days before the wide theatrical release date of Superman, director James Gunn sparked much cultural conversation when he referred to the superhero’s iconic tale as a story about “an immigrant.”
“I mean, Superman is the story of America. An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost,” Gunn shared in an interview.
“It’s about human kindness and obviously there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness. But screw them,” he added.
In a later interview, the DC Studios CEO said that “anti-American sentiment” may have hurt the film’s performance overseas.
“Superman is not a known commodity in some places. He is not a big, known superhero in some places like Batman is. That affects things. And it also affects things that we have a certain amount of anti-American sentiment around the world right now. It isn’t really helping us,” Gunn told Rolling Stone.
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Gallery Credit: Erica Russell