Ask five Superman fans who the best live-action Lois Lane is, and you’ll probably get five different answers—followed by a heated debate and maybe a Twitter block. For some, it’s Margot Kidder’s sharp-tongued journalist from the Christopher Reeve films. Others ride hard for Erica Durance’s fearless take on Smallville. Man of Steel‘s Amy Adams? A modern, no-nonsense Lois with zero chill. Superman & Lois‘ Elizabeth Tulloch? Sweet, grounded, and full-on mom mode. The less said about Kate Bosworth’s Lois Lane in Superman Returns, the better. But there’s one name that even the haters respect: Teri Hatcher.
And if you ask Dean Cain, who played Superman opposite Hatcher in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993–1997), there’s no competition. Teri Hatcher is the best Lois Lane of all time.
“I still think—no offense to anybody else’s Lois Lane—but I still think she’s the best Lois Lane of all time,” he said in a refreshingly honest chat recently with Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville‘s Lex Luther) on the Inside of You podcast.
Was it always smooth flying between the two co-stars? Not exactly. Cain recalled their very first interaction during auditions, when Teri Hatcher came in with strong Lois Lane energy: “She goes, ‘You don’t like me, do you?’” Cain replied, “You didn’t say hi to me either. I was just trying to get a job.” Welcome to Lois & Clark, where the on-screen (and maybe the off-screen) friction was also kind of the point.
“But that right there was the relationship between Lois and Clark. Lois drove the series, and that was her,” Dean confessed. There’s a reason why Lois’ name appears at the beginning of the title of the show. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was the story of Lois – and Clark and Superman were the co-stars. Well, kind of.
“She carried the show. I just got to react off her,” Cain admitted. “It worked wonderfully.” And it did. Hatcher’s Lois wasn’t just a supporting role—she was the story. Smart, sarcastic, and never afraid to call Clark out, her version of Lois embodied everything fans love about the character. She’d barge into Lex Luthor’s office for an exclusive, file her article before deadline, and still have time to glare at Superman with heart eyes.
Still, Cain kept it real. He noted that while their chemistry was sometimes “the easiest thing in the world,” there were also long days slowed down by what he called “one little thing that had nothing to do with what we’re doing.” Apparently, she even had her own makeup team, while he was in the trailer like, “Just slap some powder on me and let’s go.”
They didn’t always see eye to eye, but Cain insists there was never any bad blood. “We’re still very friendly,” he said, recalling their 2017 reunion atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge. “Soaring together again,” Hatcher posted at the time.
Honestly? That selfie says it all. Dean Cain knows it. You probably do, too. Teri Hatcher is the best Lois Lane of all time.
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