As the new “Superman” movie debuts on Friday, July 11, Mt. Clemens native Dean Cain is looking back on his time as the Man of Steel.

People still approach him to this day and say, “Hey, Superman!” For Cain — who played football for Princeton University, where he earned his undergraduate degree in history — that never gets old.

“I’ll always embrace that. It was the beginning of my career. It’s the thing I’m certainly most known for. I don’t have a problem with that whatsoever,” said Cain, 58, of Malibu. “There’s a lot worse things I’ve been called, and I’m sure I’ll be called them again. If someone’s calling me Superman, I’ll accept it.” He added, tongue-in-cheek: “As long as they don’t expect me to fly; they have to understand that I’m an actor.”

Cain played Superman — the creation of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who debuted in 1938’s “Action Comics” No. 1, published by DC Comics — and his alter-ego Clark Kent in 1993-97’s “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” alongside Teri Hatcher (“Desperate Housewives”) as fellow reporter/love interest Lois Lane.

In “Lois & Clark,” the titular characters eventually get married in a story coinciding with them getting married in the comic book. The series ended on a cliffhanger, where they find a baby boy in Clark’s old bassinet, along with a note stating he belonged to them. Before this storyline could be explored, the series was canceled. Executive producer Brad Buckner stated in interviews that the baby was Kryptonian royalty placed in Superman’s care for his own protection. Cain wouldn’t mind revisiting this storyline centering around the baby but told fans not to get their hopes up.

“I don’t have any plans to reprise the character. I’d love to see Lois and Clark — our Lois and Clark, that is Teri’s Lois and my Superman — what they’re really doing nearly 30 years after people have last seen us. I’d like to do it the way ‘Cobra Kai’ has done it. Boy, I’ve really enjoyed ‘Cobra Kai.’ That’s the same feel I want for ‘Lois & Clark.’ They’re parents now and there’s all kinds of different things that will happen with their characters. I’ve loved that idea forever. I’ve actually started writing it, but I’ve been pulled away from it all a million times. I just think it’s such a great idea,” he explained.

To Cain, Hatcher was the best actress to play Lois.

“I still think she’s the best Lois Lane of all time,” he said. “She carried the show.”

Although Cain has no plans to revisit “Lois & Clark,” he later appeared on “Smallville,” which starred Okemos High School alumnus Tom Welling as a pre-Superman Clark Kent, as well as “Supergirl.”

One of Cain’s main competitors for the role of Superman was Kevin Sorbo of “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.”

“I thought I had it wrapped up, then they made me do an extra scene. I was like, ‘Uh-oh,’” recalled Cain. “Kevin’s a great guy, a true professional. He knows what to do, how to do it, how to get it done. We’re friends outside work and I’m not friends with too many actors outside of work. … He’s a great guy, but too blond to be Superman. He had the hair for Hercules.”

Cain and writer Jeph Loeb — who’s penned Superman’s adventures on the printed page and the small screen — gave their insights on what gives Superman his staying power after 87 years.

“The guy’s the most powerful being on Earth and raised with small-town American values in Kansas by a farm couple,” said Cain. “To me, he’s the ultimate picture of goodness and morality. I believe in truth, justice and the American way. To me, it made perfect sense. I’m honored to be associated with the character.”

Loeb, who appeared this past May at the Motor City Comic Con in Novi, listed two things that contributed to Superman’s longevity.

“First: He was the first. When you’re the first and you’re great, you have staying power. Second: I think this is the most important. Superman, for me, is always about hope,” Loeb said. “He does without preaching, which is important; he shows us what we can be. It’s odd that a man from another planet can show us how to be the best humans we can be. Yet in a weird way, it’s kinda the greatest immigration story in that a man from another land comes to us and shows us that we can be better people. That’s brilliant and hopeful. I want to read those stories all the time and I want to read them over and over again. He’s the greatest. That’s why ‘Superman: For All Seasons’ is one of my favorite things I’ve ever done. What (artist Tim Sale) captured wasn’t just the spirit of Superman, but the spirit of what it means to be a good human being. And that’s something worth thinking about, particularly in these times. Be nice. Be kind.”