Sean Kanan Teases ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ Love Triangle: ‘Deacon Certainly Still Has Arrows in His Quiver’ (Exclusive)
From 'Karate Kid' to 'The Bold and the Beautiful', Sean Kanan opens up about redemption, sobriety and his 25-year legacy
As The Bold and the Beautiful’s Deacon Sharpe risks Sheila Carter’s wrath by catching feelings for Taylor Forrester, Sean Kanan talks to Woman’s World about building a potentially dangerous love triangle with costars Kimberlin Brown and Rebecca Budig.
The actor, writer, producer and motivational speaker who earned a Daytime Emmy for the series Studio City alongside his real-life wife reflects on his soapy career—which started with General Hospital’s A. J. Quartermaine over 30 years ago and also saw him bring Deacon to The Young and the Restless for some drama.
Plus, Kanan teases his movie, Bodyman and the Karate Kid III alum gets candid about his stint on Netflix’s Cobra Kai.
Sean Kanan celebrates 25 years as Deacon Sharpe on ‘B&B’
When it comes to picking favorites, Sean Kanan admits his Studio City character Sam Stevens is in close contention with The Bold and the Beautiful’s Deacon—and not just because he created the Daytime Emmy-winning limited series.
“It’s a toss-up, because on Studio City, I wrote all my own dialogue, but Deacon has paralleled my life for 25 years now,” he marvels. “It’s been interesting to benchmark where I’ve been in my life—my challenges and my successes—with my alter ego and where he is. So Deacon is very close to my heart.
“I am also forever grateful to Brad and the Bell family for giving me what has been not just one of the most important professional jobs in my career, but something that’s been life-changing in so many ways,” he says of his showrunner. “I’ve been exposed to a worldwide audience and gotten to travel to exciting places. I got to go do Dancing with the Stars in Italy, and my wife and I just bought a place there. I don’t take it all for granted.”
Sean Kanan on ‘Cobra Kai’: ‘An amazing experience’ returning as Mike Barnes
The actor who got his start in Karate Kid III was also grateful he got to bring Mike Barnes to Cobra Kai after the Netflix reboot became an international hit.
“People asked if I was bummed out that I only did three episodes, but it was just an amazing experience,” Kanan says of reconnecting with Ralph Macchio and getting to work with the Karate Kid franchise’s other villains, William Zabka and Yuji Okumoto, who played Johnny and Chozen.
“There was a redemption arc with Daniel, and ultimately, I became an unlikely Fourth Musketeer,” he says. “We all got to play in the sandbox together and Ralph even says that scene at the end of Season 5 where we’re all piling out of this limousine was his favorite of the series.”
Deacon’s redemption arc: Sean Kanan on his character transformation
Speaking of redemption arcs, Deacon was once one of the dirtiest villains to cross both The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless.
“He’s had a fundamental paradigm shift of who he is,” Kanan says. “Some of that has to do with Taylor and what he’s uncovered in the therapy, but I think the majority of it comes from his relationship with Hope and now Deke.
“They say, if you want to achieve self-esteem, do estimable acts, and Deacon has been estimable in how he’s been a father,” he continues. “So he’s like, ‘Wow, maybe I’m THIS guy, and not that other guy that was a piece of crap.’”
Sean Kanan and Kimberlin Brown: ‘Seamless and easy chemistry’
Along the way, Deacon’s also become a grounding force for the most infamous show-crossing villain—Kimberlin Brown’s Sheila Carter.
“I did not think this was going to be a love interest,” Kanan admits. “I thought this was the pairing of two baddies who would pull their evil, dark art skills! This was so unlikely, and yet the audience embraced it.”
“Kimberlin’s a tremendous actor, and a wonderful partner,” he continues. “I’ve always tried to make one of Deacon’s facets that he’s funny, sometimes, and she plays into that. We’ve become very good friends and have such seamless and easy chemistry, which I appreciate.”
Sean Kanan on playing A.J. Quartermaine on ‘GH’: ‘I refused to play him like a loser’
Kanan is used to being in the middle of soapy conflict, but until now, he’s been the one starting trouble. In fact, over a decade after General Hospital killed off his character A.J. Quartermaine, the troubled alcoholic and his schemes still propel onscreen drama today.
“I was told A.J. was there to be this snarky rich kid and a jerk, but I refused to play him like a loser,” recalls Kanan, who played the Q in the mid-’90s and then from 2012 to 2014. “Everybody has wants, needs and goals, and A.J. was just a guy that desperately wanted to be loved.
“When I was on General Hospital, I was also going through a lot of the same stuff myself,” he adds. “I was struggling with alcohol and it was really raw for me, so I was able to bring some of that to the character.”
Sean Kanan’s marriage to Michele: ‘Love does not conquer all’
While Kanan was struggling back then, today he’s a motivational speaker and writer whose all the way in Dubai for Gladiator Summit III. He’s set to launch an acting seminar on January 18 and represent The Karate Kid at Comic Cons around the country this year.
Last month, he also celebrated the first screening of Bodyman, a co-written and produced with his wife, Michele.
“It deals with the fentanyl and human trafficking crisis set against the backdrop of the California senatorial race,” he teases. “I play the incumbent senator, and right now, we’re figuring out who’s going to be distributing the film. I can’t wait for everyone to see it. I’m so proud of my wife. She’s a beast!”
Having co-written the book Way of the COBRA Couples with Michele and earned his Daytime Emmy alongside her with Studio City, Kanan reveals their professional collaborations are central to their success as a couple.
“Love does not conquer all,” he explains. “In a couple, your ships have to be sailing in the same direction, even as you also maintain your individuality. So it’s not the Sean show! There are times when Michele is supporting the things I want to do, and there’s times that I support the things she wants to do. We keep our life integrated.”
As the duo eyes making two more features this year, they’ve put on hold their streaming series Bloodhounds—which is based on the unsolved Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist and features The Bold and the Beautiful star Jennifer Gareis and soap vet Justin Torkildsen.
“We’re figuring out what we have time to do next, which is a high-end, wonderful problem,” grins Kanan.
Look out, Sheila, ‘Deacon certainly still has arrows in his quiver’
With so much on his plate, Kanan says he’s not looking to exit The Bold and the Beautiful.
“People always ask, ‘Why are you staying on the soap? You’re doing all this other stuff,’” he shares. “For a long time, the income I made in the soap world allowed me to do these other things. I’m finally getting the point where my income from producing and writing is eclipsing that, but I love my job at The Bold and the Beautiful. I love Deacon, and I love the people I work with.”
Like viewers, Kanan is looking forward to big, soapy 2026 drama as the love triangle between Sheila, Deacon and Taylor heats up on The Bold and the Beautiful. While Steffy has a right to be scared for her mother and even Deacon, Kanan reminds us that if Sheila acts up, Brown has reason to be concerned about her own character, as well.
“I love the fact that I’ve had this redemption arc, but Deacon certainly still has arrows in his quiver,” Kanan promises Woman’s World. “Should he ever need to color outside the lines, he’s certainly capable!”
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