By Mara Levinsky
Role: Deacon Sharpe, Bold & Beautiful
Birthday: November 2
Born: Cleveland, Ohio
Raised: New Castle, Pennsylvania
Famous Classmate: "I went to boarding school with [Oscar-winning Traffic star] Benicio del Toro. I think he's a very interesting actor. The kind of stuff he does is the stuff that eventually, someday, I would love to be able to do."
What's in His Magazine Rack: "I gotta admit, I read all the soap mags – I gotta keep myself in the know. And I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I read Maxim. It's like my brain candy. It's garbage, but hey."
On His Most Recent Blockbuster Night…: "I rented The Contender, and I really liked that. Phenomenal performances. I've been so busy, I haven't had a minute to see anything, so I've got a lot to catch up on."
His Plans for May: "I'm going to be in New York the whole week of the Emmys. My sister lives in New Jersey and she's having a baby – she's due in mid-May, so it's perfect timing. It'll be my first niece or nephew, so I'm going to spoil this kid rotten. I'm going to go to FAO Schwartz and buy the place out."
How to Find Him Online: "My web site just launched. It's in the process of being completed, but it's up and running at SeanKanan.com."
Digest Online: So, you're headed to New York soon?
Sean Kanan: Yeah, I'm presenting at the Emmys, which I'm really looking forward to.
Digest Online: With so many of your co-stars nominated, the B&B gang should have a great time at the ceremony this year this year.
Kanan: Oh, it's so great. I've only been on the show for six months or so, but a few years ago there were no nominations, and then last year we had 2, and this year we've got 4. It's great! Being a half-hour show, it's so difficult to get the recognition. We really do have some very, very talented actors on our show, so it's good that they're getting recognized. And you've got to remember, we have a smaller voting entity, voting body, because we're a smaller cast. So it's nice because it means that obviously, people from other shows are taking notice of the work.
Digest Online: Let's talk about your experience on the show thus far. Does it feel like a good fit?
Kanan: It feels like it's a real good fit. It's kind of a dream role, too. Most guys you talk to, they want to play kind of the bad-boy rebel kind of thing, and that's great, but the thing that's compelling for me about playing this role is the opportunity to show the vulnerability, and show why this guy is the way he is, without compromising the core essence of the guy, which is that he's really willing to go to whatever extreme he has to to accomplish what he wants. The guy is definitely a morally challenged fellow, you know what I mean? [Laughs] I love the fact that with the storyline I'm involved in now, which is basically holding Bridget Forrester emotionally ransomed to get what I want, that I'm back to some of the old Deacon we saw when I first came on the show.
Digest Online: When you play a role like this, which requires you to keep a lot of personality traits in play during your characterization, what aspects do you most enjoy projecting?
Kanan: I like to explore the vulnerability. I like to explore why this guy is the way he is based upon the lousy upbringing he had: his mother was a topless dancer and his stepfather was just this abusive a******. I like to play that. What I really enjoy doing is working with Susan Flannery (Stephanie), because for me, I always try to create the subtext that she represents this maternal ideal that Deacon wants. So even though she's the matriarch of the family that I'm bitter enemies with, there's sort of a bizarre respect and attraction, in a weird way. For me, finding those different colors are what it's all about. One of the difficult things about doing a soap is that you're doing repetitive material; that's just the nature of the beast. You gotta find ways to make the same information come across as interesting after you've said it for five shows. So, you know, that's the stuff I'm not crazy about. The stuff that I like… I like working with Susan a lot. I like playing the bad guy, because you can never be too bad. My acting teacher used to say to me, "You can never be too Southern." Which means, when you're playing a Southern character, go overboard with the accent because that's how a lot of those people are. Just commit to it totally. I like working with the babies [Brett and Jonny Wirta, Little Eric], actually. (Laughs) They're so cute. I keep a big handful of Lucky Charms in my pocket. He only eats the marshmallows and he stays happy. What's great is that they're actually starting to talk; we can give them lines and they can say, "Daddy." It's been amazing to watch, in the short amount of time I've been on the show, how much change has occurred. Because at that age, there's so much change to be seen. They're absolutely adorable.
Digest Online: Does it make a difference to you in terms of your job satisfaction that Deacon has been front-and-center pretty much from the get-go?
Kanan: Well, I didn't work that much on General Hospital, which was frustrating. I was very much an ancillary part of the cast, and I never felt like I was given the ball. And I really feel like these guys have given me the ball and allowed me to run. The other thing too is that A.J., as much as I tried to find my own way with that character, I replaced somebody in the role and then somebody replaced me in the role, and yada yada. But this is the first time – well, it's not the first time, because I did it on Sunset Beach --
Digest Online: But that was a different situation, because you came on so close to the end of the show's run.
Kanan: Exactly, so this is the first time I've really been able to put my own imprint on a character. And it's been so much fun finding my way.
Digest Online: You've said that you're given an unusual amount of creative leeway with your scenes on B&B. To what do you attribute that?
Kanan: Well, [Executive Producer/Head Writer] Brad Bell creates really good scripts, and then when we go in in the morning to do our blocking and discuss with the directors, we see if there's something we can do just to tweak here and there. And Brad's really generous in allowing the actors to do that. As a writer myself, I know that you go ballistic when someone messes with your words. But there's that fine line of respecting what he's written and trying to bring my own personal twist to it, and so far I think it's been fitting together really well. Obviously, as Brad has seen what I'm doing on the show, the writing has become more tailored to who I am as an actor, I think. That's just natural.
Digest Online: His flexibility there seems to indicate both a security in his own writing as well as a trust in your abilities.
Kanan: It does. It's a really great working relationship. This is one of the best work environments I've ever worked in, with the exception, probably, of when I'm producing a film and it's my cast and crew. As far as being a guest in someone else's production, this is like the dream job. I love it here. I'm very, very happy. I really have a good relationship with all the actors on the show, I like them as people, I like them as actors, and we've got a phenomenal crew. It's nice to come to work every day. I love coming here. And I'll tell you, that hasn't always been the case for me. I became very disillusioned with General Hospital, as did they with me. [Laughs] And you know, I think that plays a big role in performance, too.
Digest Online: It just makes sense that trusting your co-workers would be conducive to turning in a good performance.
Kanan: Definitely. There's such a safety nest of trust. Doug Hayden, who's our stage manager, I knew him for four years at General Hospital. And I know that when I look at Doug before he counts down [to a scene], I've got a guy who's there to support what I'm doing and make sure I'm okay to do the best job I can. Same with the cameramen and all the way down the line. So it really helps it come together.
Digest Online: I want to hear about all the different film projects you've got in the works? Let's start with Chasing Holden, which you wrote, produced, and star in.
Kanan: Chasing Holden is probably wrapping in about two days. I was up in Montreal shooting for about eight days. It's myself and D.J. Qualls and Rachel Blanchard from Road Trip. D.J.'s coming out in a $30 million movie called The New Guy, and he's the new guy. This kid is phenomenal. I play a teacher who is kind of his confidant and almost a surrogate older brother. At one point, I was teaching the class which he's in, and after we cut, I said, "You know something? What you just did was the exact vision that I had when I wrote this. The exact way you played it, everything." And I said, "I'm so happy you're on board with us." It's a really wonderful, multi-layered role. He's a kid who tried to kill himself and is totally disillusioned and runs away from boarding school to find J.D. Salinger. And the kid has brought my character to life. Lion's Gate is distributing the film.
Digest Online: You went to boarding school yourself – is the film autobiographical in any sense?
Kanan: There are certain incidents that I drew from, but really, this kid is a disturbed kid. This was not me. But definitely some of the events that happen in the film were colored by certain things that happened to me. It was an amazing experience to write this film and see actors speaking my words and also to be the executive producer and to act in it. I was so unbelievably pleased with the quality – I really believe this film is going to turn out to be a Good Will Hunting for the slightly younger generation. It's really exciting, and the dailies look phenomenal, so we'll see.
Digest Online: And what about March, the film you produced and starred in opposite Rena Sofer (ex-Lois, GH; ex-Eve, Melrose Place) and Michelle Phillips (ex-Anne, Knots Landing)?
Kanan: March has been playing the festival circuit, and it's going to screen at Cannes, so that's making the rounds and is going to be shown in different territories. It's going to be in theaters in Los Angeles; we're structuring a domestic deal right now where the film will open in Los Angeles and then, if it does well, it'll go wider. So that's exciting. I am in like every scene; I play Julian March, who is an insurance salesman. He ostensibly is living this Rockwellian American dream of a house in the suburbs, two cars, beautiful wife, beautiful child. But we learn that really, that's a façade, and he is involved in an extramarital affair. His world starts to crumble down around him. And what's interesting is that the film's ending, which I won't give away, is ambiguous. It's a slice-of-life film. It's methodically paced, kind of in the vein of The Ice Storm, and it's interesting because people don't always learn and grow, and that's sort of my take on this film. This is a guy who doesn't necessarily grow from the experiences that he has. It's an interesting character study. Most of the people who've seen it have really liked it; it's affected them. It's a thoughtful film, a film rather than a movie I think. It's not a popcorn film; it's heavy, it's dark, it raises some disturbing questions, and it was an amazing experience.
Digest Online: Is the theme of growing or not growing from one's mistakes of interest to you in part because of your personal experiences with gaining sobriety?
Kanan: [Pause] I don't think I'm drawn to that theme for those reasons. I seem to be drawn to characters who are flawed human beings, yet still basically good human beings. I guess in a lot of ways that's how I see myself. I'm certainly nobody's role model, but you know, I think intrinsically I have a good heart and a good sense of right and wrong. But I think in life, there are times that people make incorrect choices. It's funny – I was watching Cool Hand Luke the other day and talking to a friend about it. My friend said, "Isn't it interesting that almost all of Paul Newman's roles are sociopaths?" And if you think about it, they're antiheroes who function outside the accepted norms of society. And I've noticed that in a lot of the roles that I've played, I seem to – I'm certainly not trying to parallel myself to Paul Newman – but I've found that I seem to play these guys who kind of operate on the fringes, and yet also adhere to their own code of morality. That's just an observation. I don't know where I was going with that, but Deacon seems to be that way too. This is a guy who does things that are wrong, I think, but you kind of have to respect his level of commitment and the extent that he's willing to go to. If you think about it, this is a guy who wants his kid back.
Digest Online: And what could be more honorable than that?
Kanan: Exactly.
Digest Online: I'm curious: Do writing and acting serve different functions for you as an artist, or do you see them as just different ways of expressing the same creative drive that you have?
Kanan: No, I don't see them as two sides of the same coin, actually. Writing is much more intellectually and cerebrally oriented. Acting needs to be a much more visceral, in the moment sort of thing. And using the writer's brain for acting could potentially get you in a lot of trouble. I used to do that as a younger actor. I used to overintellectualize things, and that can be very counter-productive. I would say that they do augment and enhance each other; in other words, when you're writing a scene, you really have an overall goal for the scene – an obstacle and an action a character takes to accomplish that – and it's the same when you're acting: What is my goal in this scene, what's my action, and what's my obstacle? Everything else is kind of set dressing and a bag of tricks that we pull out to make it interesting. The writing has helped me hopefully become a better actor, and my acting has I think certainly made me a better writer. But they are different.
Digest Online: Can you name some of the movies and performers that have influenced you, either as an actor or a writer?
Kanan: I like Nicolas Cage a lot because he's able to vacillate between heavy drama, action, and comedy. He's just an overall talent. He's got kind of a bombastic energy to him, which is larger than life. Sometimes you might say it's overacting, but it's compelling to watch. Look at Face/Off or something like that. Listen, actors steal, and I steal stuff from him all the time. I'll go and watch Paul Newman's movies and see what I can steal from him. Robert Downey is probably one of my favorite actors.
Digest Online: You've been in the business for 15 years and you've been in daytime for eight now—
Kanan: God, have I? I guess I have! Holy shi**. [Assumes Al Pacino voice] "Every time I try to get out, they pull me back in." [Laughs]
Digest Online: You said that as a greener actor, you tended you overintellectualize your scenes. Reflecting back to your early days in the medium, what are some of the things you've learned about working in daytime?
Kanan: That's easy. The first thing I've learned is that the most valuable commodity that I bring to my work is who I am as a person. In other words, there are people who are chameleon-esque actors: Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman. Then you have guys that are sort of cult of personality actors, guys like Harrison Ford, Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson to an extent. I guess I see myself more in that vein, and I've learned to trust my instincts and use those instincts in the roles that I play. Another thing is that in soaps, the dialogue is very on the nose, and I think as a young actor I kind of played into the dialogue instead of trying to find the opposites and easing off the lines. I think I'm more assertive now as an actor; if I don't feel that the take is where it should be, in a polite way, I speak up and I really will try to pursue doing it until I feel it's where it should be. And to their credit, the directors and Rhonda Friedman, our supervising producer, have been really giving to me that way. Before I took this job I said, "Rhonda, I don't my lines real well, ever, and I do that purposely." Certainly I know them, but then I throw them away and forget them. I said, "Generally, it takes me three takes," which are actually my rehearsals, to discover and find what I want to do, and then I get it and I'm ready to do it and I'm fairly happy with what transpires. But for me, I'm not one of these guys who comes in and nails it on the first take because I'm not looking to, you know what I mean?
Digest Online: You're giving priority to the process.
Kanan: Exactly. There's not a lot of rehearsal – the only rehearsal that there is is what we do up in our dressing rooms, and as actors, the rehearsal process is where you uncover the dynamics of what's going on in a scene. You can't just show up! These guys who just show up and are all about, "Well, I got all my lines right and I looked good?" Yeah, great – you're a hack. It's not about that. It's about going and elevating the writing and creating something dynamic and contentious that people are going to find interesting enough to watch.
Digest Online: Good for you for seeing it that way because I think daytime is a medium where, given the sheer volume of material there is to shoot on a given day, if you're looking to get lazy, you can get away with it.
Kanan: Absolutely. Look, I have my days where I'm doing six or seven shows a week… Not every day is a day you're going to go home feeling like a rock star. And that's frustrating. But every now and then, I have a show where I reconnect with that divine spark within myself that I recognize as my creativity, and feel so good about it. But if you go home every day thinking, "Gee, I did some swell work today," you're probably not. My acting teacher told me that Agnes DeMille said that the best thing an artist can hope for is a divine sense of dissatisfaction. It's that very sense of dissatisfaction that hopefully pushes you harder, that propels the actor. I come here and I play, you know? Luckily, we have a pretty good cast – we get out there and we play and obviously people are starting to take notice of what's going on, and that's really rewarding.
Digest Online: You mentioned Susan Flannery (Stephanie) specifically as someone you enjoy working with. Your scenes with her are gripping.
Kanan: Well, she just elevates my performance, there's no doubt about it. I know going into it, first of all, that I need to know my shit. [Laughs] Those are the days that I do really try to know my lines. But I can almost guarantee – she's a very giving actress because I remember one time, she gave me a suggestion, and I took it, and it dramatically enhanced the scene. Actors can be competitive in scenes, and they're not always forthcoming with help so that they can win the scene. And she's a veteran actress and she imparts a lot of the wisdom and experience that she has. She's also a director. So I just know that when I work with her, it's going to be good, whether I want it to be or not. It's out of my hands; it's going to be good because I just follow her lead. And I'm really having a good time working with Jennifer Finnigan (Bridget).
Digest Online: Let's talk for a moment about Deacon and Bridget. How would you characterize his involvement with her?
Kanan: I think at this point, unfortunately, she's being utilized as a pawn in Deacon's plan to get Amber and the baby back. However, how can you not be affected by this innocent, beautiful, warm, loving girl? I think at some point, she's going to start affecting this guy. Deacon is definitely torn and feels badly about what's he's doing, but is single-minded in his pursuit of Amber and the baby. Somewhere along the line, I'm sure his feelings are going to be conflicted because he's going to start caring for her. I mean, how can he not?
Digest Online: And how would you describe your working relationship with Jennifer?
Kanan: Jennifer and I have a really good working relationship. She's a very giving actress. Jennifer's a really sophisticated, mature woman who's playing a much younger character. My hat's off to her because she has to minimize her natural inclination to be this experienced, sophisticated young woman because Bridget is not who Jennifer is. I think in a lot of ways it involves a lot more acting on her part than people might notice. It's difficult to play this naïve, "the world is opening up to me and I'm not sure how to face it" kind of character, and to play it genuinely, not to play it syrupy. I love rehearsing with her and I truly, truly like her as a person. She's a cool girl. She's from Montreal so we talked a lot when I went up there to do Chasing Holden, about how homesick she was and how jealous she was that I got to go up there. The thing I like about acting, too, is that you're forced, in a way, to forge very meaningful relationships so that that can translate to the screen. I welcome that; I really enjoy the time I spend with her, rehearsing or having lunch or whatever, because as I get to know her, I think it allows me to care for her character more. With her, it's very easy – that's what I like about it. There's no drama, there's no conflict, we just work well together. And it's fun to kiss her. [Laughs]
Digest Online: And what about Deacon and Amber?
Kanan: I think there's a couple things in play there. I think Amber really represents a sense of home for Deacon. They come from the same world, they come from the same side of the tracks and they're kind of kindred spirits in a weird way. I think that Deacon also views the way she's living her life with the Forresters and Rick as not being in touch with who she really is. I think Deacon never had a sense of family, which is what she represents with the baby. She was there for this kind of awakening catharsis that occurred when he realized that he did really want to be a father to this child. And I think there's also the competitive factor at play: Deacon doesn't like to lose. He doesn't want to lose to Rick Forrester; he doesn't want to lose to any of the Forresters. And there is a reality that she represents somewhat of a prize. I think that he genuinely loves her to the extent that Deacon is able to understand love at this point.
Digest Online: It'll be interesting to see his definition of love expand over time.
Kanan: That's what I think too, yeah.
Digest Online: Is this the first time you've played a father?
Kanan: No, I played one in March. My child in March was eight years old, so for me, that was really kind of a good experience.
Digest Online: One of the benefits in your profession of growing older is that the life experiences that are plausible for you to play increase considerably.
Kanan: Yeah, you know, it's one of the cruel ironies of acting, but generally speaking, your career tends to get better because opportunities avail themselves more as you get older. A couple of years ago, I couldn't play a young father. Generally, I looked too young to play it. Now I have the goatee and I dyed my hair to look older and more menacing for this role, but it's only recently that I started getting a couple little lines and it's allowed me to play some of these more mature roles.
Digest Online: It sounds like you're doing the right thing, which is to embrace that.
Kanan: Oh, absolutely. Hey, listen, the story ends the same for all of us. None of us get out alive. We all get older, and you better embrace it or it's going to be a long, painful road. Right?
Digest Online: Right. Obviously this is a busy time for you professionally. What do you do in your down time, when you have it?
Kanan: I really don't have that much time to do anything. It's such a different experience for me than General Hospital, with the amount of work I have to do. It's a complete misconception that because it's a half-hour show the work load is any less. That has nothing to do with it, especially because on General Hospital I'd be on two scenes a show or maybe three, and I'm in five or six scenes every day on B&B. I go home, have dinner, learn my lines, and start up again, you know?
Digest Online: If you did have free time, how would you spend it?
Kanan: Well, right now I'm looking at an ad for a cabin in Big Bear and I'm going to try and go there this weekend and write. I'm not getting any writing done, and I want to just drive up in my truck, bring a bunch of groceries, bring my computer, not have my phone ringing, and hole up there, you know?
Digest Online: Well, I think you've earned a vacation, so enjoy it.
Kanan: Oh, I will.
