When Sean Kanan returned to “The Bold and the Beautiful” last year as Deacon Sharpe, many wondered how long the character would be able to stick around, considering he’d been in prison for some time as a result of his prior dealings with the Forresters and the Logans. With Deacon entangled with Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown), who is currently on the run from the Los Angeles Police Department for shooting Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Finn (Tanner Nolan), who is Sheila’s biological son, it would appear Deacon’s aiding and abetting of Sheila would make his days numbered on the soap. You’d be wrong, however, as it turns out the show has long-term plans for the character now that Kanan has signed a new deal with the drama series.
In an interview with Daytime Confidential, Kanan reveals that he has signed a new two-year contract with the Bell-Phillip Television Productions-produced soap, keeping him on the show through at least season 37 of the series.
“I like to stay busy and do a lot of different things. I’m having a blast working on ‘The Bold and the Beautiful,'” said Kanan to the outlet, adding, “It’s just been a really wonderful, special time in my life right now. It’s a lot of abundance.”
In addition to “The Bold and the Beautiful,” Kanan recently reprised his role as Mike Barnes from “The Karate Kid III” during the current fifth season of the Netflix series “Cobra Kai.” In getting to play the character again, Kanan says, “It’s amazing and humbling to me that a role I played 34 years ago still has relevance and interest in the hearts of fans. So, I’m incredibly flattered and I’m so fortunate.” He adds, “… I got the opportunity to play the character of a much more, emotionally diverse and multi-dimensional guy than he was in ‘The Karate Kid III.’ That was one of the things that I spoke to the creators about. I told them I’d obviously love to come back, but there are two prerequisites that I’d like to put on the table. He would be a much more evolved character, because he’s 30 plus years down the road. He’s had all that life experience and opportunity to change one-way or the other. The other is that we inject some humor into it. One of the greatest things about Cobra Kai is the humor. I definitely have a pretty strong comedic background that I wanted to bring that to it. They graciously checked both of the boxes.”
Should the show’s creators include the Mike Barnes character in season six, Kanan would be interested in returning. “Absolutely! Of course! Are you kidding me? I had a blast! It was definitely one of the top three best work experiences I’ve ever had. It was just so much fun, and I would do it again in a heartbeat,” Kanan notes.
Outside of acting, Kanan is an accomplished author who, in late November/early December, is set to release his fourth book, “Way of the Cobra: Welcome to the Kumite,” which picks up where “Way of the Cobra” left off but functions as a standalone book.
“The logline is defeating your greatest opponent. The greatest opponent, of course, is you. What that requires is a metaphoric death. Every day, you’re killing the person you were yesterday to re-emerge as a better and stronger version of yourself the next day,” says Kanan, explaining the book’s message. He adds, “The ability to constantly evolve and improve is the essence of ‘Welcome to the Kumite.’ Kumite refers to two things. It’s a form of training to prepare for an adversary in Japanese Karate. It’s also an epic battle. It was made most famous from the movie Bloodsport with Jean-Claude Van Damme, when he won the Kumite. So, I thought that was an interesting title to use.”
For more from Kanan, including his recent cross-over appearance on “The Young and the Restless” working alongside Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki Newman), and his additional thoughts on “The Karate Kid III” and “Cobra Kai,” make sure to check out his interview with Daytime Confidential, here.