Sean Kanan
Sean Kanan (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, producer, author and TV host, best known for his portrayals of A. J. Quartermaine on General Hospital, Deacon Sharpe on The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless, Mike Barnes in The Karate Kid Part III, and Sam Steven on STUDIO CITY.
Sean Kanan | |
---|---|
Born | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | November 2, 1966
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1988–present |
Known for | The Karate Kid Part III (1989) General Hospital (1993–1997, 2012–2014) The Bold and the Beautiful (2000–2005, 2012, 2014–2017) The Young and the Restless (2009–2012) STUDIO CITY (2019-) |
Height | 6 ft (183 cm) |
Spouse(s) | Athena Ubach
( m. 1999; div. 2001)Michele Kanan ( m. 2012) |
Children | 5 |
Early life
Kanan was born in Cleveland, Ohio.[1] His family later relocated to New Castle, Pennsylvania.[2] He attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, Boston University and UCLA where he earned a degree in political science.[3]
Career
Kanan's first notable role was in Academy Award-winning director John Avildsen's 1989 film The Karate Kid Part III. The following year, he starred on the Fox television series The Outsiders. In 1993, Kanan joined the ABC soap opera General Hospital as A. J. Quartermaine and was nominated for an award in the Outstanding Newcomer category by Soap Opera Digest. He left the series in 1997 with rumors, sparked by his storyline, that he struggled with alcoholism.[4]
In 1999, Kanan joined the cast of the NBC soap opera Sunset Beach as Jude Cavanaugh and remained with the show until its cancellation later that year. He wrote and executive-produced Chasing Holden, distributed by Lionsgate, which starred DJ Qualls. In November 2000, he joined the cast of the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful as Deacon Sharpe,[5] playing a character that was originally conceived as a short-term villain.[6] In 2002, rumors surfaced that the actor had been fired, but he remained with the show until early 2005 when he opted to go on a recurring status, and he last appeared February 22, 2005.[6]
Upon his departure from The Bold and the Beautiful, Kanan starred in several feature films and competed in the third season of the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars in 2006. On July 10, 2009, Kanan reprised his role as Deacon Sharpe on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless.[7]
While appearing on The Young and the Restless, he starred in the 2009 Indie film Abracadabra, which was directed by Julie Pacino (Al Pacino's daughter) and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. In May 2010, Kanan appeared in My Trip to the Dark Side, written and directed by Shane Stanley. He later starred in the 2011 sequel My Trip Back to the Dark Side. That same year, Kanan wrote "The Modern Gentleman; Cooking and Entertaining with Sean Kanan", published by Dunham Books.
Upon leaving The Young and the Restless in January 2012,[8] Kanan reprised his role as Deacon Sharpe on The Bold and the Beautiful. He appeared on and off from May until September 2012.[9][10] Following his departure from the show, Kanan was reported to be returning to General Hospital. On October 29, 2012, Kanan returned to the role of A. J. Quartermaine on General Hospital after a 15-year absence.[11] The actor was excited to work with new leadership, Frank Valentini .[12] He left in early 2014, and expressed disappointment in what the writing team had come up with for his character since he was looking forward to a Quartermaine brother reunion with long-time friend Steve Burton.[13][14] The actor then returned to The Bold and the Beautiful as Deacon Sharpe, first airing June 13, 2014.[13] Upon being rehired, Kanan noted that Deacon is his favorite of all the characters he has played due to the writing of Bradley Bell.[14]
In 2016, Kanan received the 400th star on the Walk of Fame in Palm Springs dedicated by his wife to honor his illustrious long standing career. [15]
2019 was a big year for Kanan with creating the hit Emmy-nominated series “Studio City” and the co-compilation of a new book, Success Factor x published by Plain Sight Publishing.[16] It rapidly became a best seller on Amazon and launched Kanan's inspirational speaking tour.
Studio City
Kanan created the digital drama Studio City, directed by Timothy Woodward, Jr, as a somewhat autobiographical love letter to the Daytime Soaps. Kanan stars as Sam Stevens, who portrays Dr. Pierce Hartley on the show-with-in-a show “Hearts of Fire”, along with Soap veterans Tristan Rogers, Carolyn Hennesy, Sarah Joy Brown, Patrika Darbo, and Scott Turner Schofield, the first openly transgendered actor on Daytime TV. The episodes, penned by Michele Kanan and Lauren de Normandie, explore issues like #meToo sexual harassment, ageism, gender identity and surprise paternity with enough levity to keep the story moving. Studio City was truly a family affair, with Kanan's Emmy-nominated wife Michele Kanan writing / producing and their daughter Juliet Vega starring as Sam's surprise love child. Studio City is streaming on Amazon Prime.[17]
The Karate Kid Part III
As a teenager, years prior to his role in The Karate Kid Part III, Kanan trained in boxing before switching to Shotokan Karate and kickboxing at age 13.[18]
During the filming of the movie he trained in Shitō-ryū at a school run by Karate master Fumio Demura, and with stunt coordinator and Tang Soo Do master Pat E. Johnson.[19] He suffered internal bleeding after doing 20 takes of being thrown out a door and landing on his stomach. Kanan collapsed at a Las Vegas hotel four days after shooting the scene and was discovered to have two quarts of blood pooled in his abdomen.[20]
Personal life and opinions
Sean Kanan spends his free time studying martial arts, writing scripts, cooking, performing his stand-up routine and further pursuing the study of the Italian, French, Mandarin, Russian, Chinese and Japanese languages.[21] He and Michele Kanan married in July 2012. He has a daughter by his prior relationship and Michele has four children of her own.[22] Kanan is an active advocate for anti-bullying with organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League.[22] In May 2016 Kanan predicted that Donald Trump would win for President of the United States.[23]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | Hide and Go Shriek | John Robbins | |
1989 | The Karate Kid Part III | Mike Barnes | |
1991 | Rich Girl | Jeffrey | |
1991 | Hot Shots! | Barracks Man in Underwear | Uncredited |
1994 | Oasis Cafe | Actor | |
2000 | The Chaos Factor | Jay | |
2001 | Extreme Limits | Don Spengler | |
2001 | 10 Attitudes | Craig | |
2001 | March | Julian March | |
2003 | Chasing Holden | Alex Patterson | |
2005 | Carpool Guy | Tom | |
2006 | Sons of Italy | Michele Morri | |
2007 | Hack! | Vincent King | |
2008 | Jack Rio | Adam McNeil | |
2010 | Changing Hands | Tom | |
2010 | My Trip to the Dark Side | David Prince | Video |
2014 | My Trip Back to the Dark Side | David Prince | |
2014 | A Place Called Hollywood | Gordon Plum | |
2015 | The Hack | Chad Cooper | Pre-production |
2019 | Verotika | Sgt. Anders | Segment: "Change of Face" |
2019 | Beyond the Law |
Television credits
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1989 | Baby Boom | Scott | Episode: "X-y-l-o-p-h-o-n-e" |
1990 | Who's the Boss? | Charlie | Episode: "Take Me Back to the Ballgame" |
1990 | The Outsiders | Gregg Parker | Recurring, 4 episodes |
1991 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster | Jeff Sorrento | TV movie |
1991 | Revenge of the Nerds | Todd Channing | TV movie |
1993 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss | Mark Stratton | TV movie |
1993 | Wild Palms | Jacob | Uncredited, Episode: "Everything Must Go" |
1993 | Step by Step | Michael | Episode: "Sister Act" |
1993–97, 2012–14 | General Hospital | A.J. Quartermaine | Main cast: February 16, 1993 – June 10, 1997; October 29, 2012 – April 29, 2014[11][12][13] |
1994 | Dead at 21 | Unknown | Episode: "Shock the Monkey" |
1995 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Steve Law | Episode: "Super Mann" |
1996 | The Nanny | Mike McMullen | Episode: "The Cradle Robbers" |
1998 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Brad Alt | Episode: "Eyes of the Ranger" |
1999 | V.I.P. | Stu Solomon | Episode: "Three Days to a Kill" |
1999 | Sunset Beach | Jude Cavanaugh | Main cast: August 26 – December 31, 1999 |
2000–05, 2012, 2014–17 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Deacon Sharpe | Main cast: November 1, 2000 – February 22, 2005;[5][6] June 13, 2014 – June 16, 2017 [13][14] Recurring cast: May 24 – October 11, 2012[9][10] |
2001 | Rendez-View | Unknown | Episode: "Surf's Up, Thumbs Down" |
2006 | Freddie | Steve Mulroy | Episode: "Eligible Bachelor" |
2009–12 | The Young and the Restless | Deacon Sharpe | Recurring cast: July 10, 2009 – January 30, 2012[7][8] |
2012 | Happily Divorced | Keith | Episode: "Daddy's Girl" |
2012 | Desperate Housewives | Jason | Episode: "With So Little to Be Sure Of" |
2014 | Hell's Kitchen | Himself | Episode: "Winner Chosen"; Guest for Season 12's final Service |
2019 | Studio City | Sam Stevens and Dr. Pierce Hartley | Episode: "Pilot" |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Work | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Male Newcomer | General Hospital | Nominated | |
1997 | Online Film and Television Association Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Daytime Serial | General Hospital | Nominated | [24] |
2002 | Daytime Emmy Award America's Favorite Couple (shared with Katherine Kelly Lang) | The Bold and the Beautiful | Nominated | [25] |
2005 | Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor | The Bold and the Beautiful | Nominated |
References
- "Sean Kanan profile at". Filmreference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- Cubbal, Kayleen (October 9, 2012). "Soap secret: Return of New Castle native Sean Kanan to General Hospital is shrouded in mystery". New Castle News. Max Thomson. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/sean-kanen-exclusive-interview-with-cindys-corners/
- Soap Opera Weekly Magazine: Dated August 24, 1999
- Dan J. Kroll (October 1, 2000). "Sean Kanan, GH's AJ, joins B&B". soapcentral.com. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- Dan J. Kroll (February 8, 2005). "Kanan confirms his B&B exit". soapcentral.com. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- Dan J. Kroll (June 26, 2009). "Sean Kanan to reprise B&B role on Y&R". soapcentral.com. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- Dan J. Kroll (December 13, 2011). "Sean Kanan out, in at The Young and the Restless". soapcentral.com. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- Michael Fairman (April 18, 2012). "Sean Kanan Returns to The Bold and the Beautiful! What trouble will Deacon Sharpe cause this time?". michaelfairmansoaps.com. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- Michael Fairman (June 1, 2012). "Sean Kanan: B&B time has come to an end". soapcentral.com. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- Dan J. Kroll (September 17, 2012). "Soaps Shocker: General Hospital Brings Back Sean Kanan, But As Who? Dead A.J.? NuJason?". soapcentral.com. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- Michael Logan (September 17, 2012). "Exclusive: Sean Kanan Returns to General Hospital". TV Guide. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- Dan J. Kroll (March 17, 2014). "Sean Kanan Out at 'General Hospital,' Returning to 'The Bold and the Beautiful'". soapcentral.com. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- Michael Logan (March 17, 2014). "Exclusive: Sean Kanan Out at General Hospital, In at The Bold and the Beautiful". TV Guide. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- "THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL's Sean Kanan Recieves [sic] a Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars!". Soaps In Depth. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
- [http://web.ukonline.co.uk/seankanan/html/biography.html Sean Kana profile Archived 2009-07-30 at the Wayback Machine; accessed February 6, 2010.
- Kessler, S.E: "Meet The Bad Boy From Karate III: Sean Kanan Was Ralph Machio's Worst Nightmare", page 60. Black Belt Maganzine, February 1995; accessed February 6, 2010.
- Cunneff, Tom (17 July 1989). "Critically Injured in Filming, Karate Kid Bad Boy Sean Kanan Rallies to Fight to the Finish". People. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
- "Study Languages". IMDb.
- CBS (June 8, 2011). "Sean Kanan: Our Family Is A "Benevolent Dictatorship"". celebritybabyscoop.com. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- Wisner, Matthew (May 17, 2016). "Soap Actor Sean Kanan on Angelina Jolie's Trump Stance". Fox Business. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- "The 1st Annual Online Film and Television Association Award Nominees and Winners". ofta.cinemasight.com. 1997. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
- "Daytime Emmy Awards (2002)". IMDb. May 11, 2002. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
External links
- Sean Kanan on IMDb
- Sean Kanan at Yahoo! TV
- Sean Kanan Talks About His Restless Role
- STUDIO CITY