Early life

Kanan was born Sean Perelman to Dale and Michele Perelman in Cleveland, Ohio. His family later relocated to New Castle, Pennsylvania. He attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, Boston University and UCLA where he earned a degree in political science.

Career

Kanan received his big break working for Academy Award-winning director John Avildsen in the 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 abruptly in 1997 following his struggle with alcoholism.

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, playing a character that was originally conceived as a short-term villain. In 2002, rumors surfaced that the actor was 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.

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.

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, Kanan reprised his role as Deacon Sharpe on The Bold and the Beautiful. He appeared on and off from May until September 2012. 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. The actor was convinced that his past issues with alcohol abuse would be the reason he would never return to the soap. He was let go in early 2014, and expressed disappointment in what the writing team had come up for his character. The actor then returned to The Bold and the Beautiful as Deacon Sharpe, first airing June 13, 2014. Upon being rehired, Kanan noted that Deacon is the favorite of all the characters he played.

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. 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.

Personal life

Sean and Michele Kanan married in July 2012. He has an 11-year-old daughter by a prior relationship and she has four children of her own. The actor is involved with the Anti-Defamation League.

As of May 2016, Kanan supports Donald Trump for President of the United States.

Filmography

Film

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

Television

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
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-	The Bold and the Beautiful	Deacon Sharpe	Main cast: November 1, 2000 - February 22, 2005, June 13, 2014-present Recurring cast: May 24 - October 11, 2012
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
2012	Happily Divorced	Keith	Episode: "Daddy's Girl"
2012	Desperate Housewives	Jason	Episode: "With So Little to Be Sure Of"

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
2002	Daytime Emmy Award America's Favorite Couple	The Bold and the Beautiful	Nominated
2005	Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor	The Bold and the Beautiful	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]