Shawn Patrick Christian (born December 18, 1965) is an American television and film actor. He began his career playing the role of Mike Kasnoff on the soap opera As the World Turns (1993-97) and later moved to prime time television playing recurring roles on Charmed, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Birds of Prey. He starred in the 2001 monster film Tremors 3: Back to Perfection and the WB drama series, Summerland (2004-2005). He later returned to daytime television playing Daniel Jonas on Days of Our Lives (2008-2017, 2020).
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Early life
Christian was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan, in 1989 with a degree in marketing, he moved to Chicago to pursue an acting career. He starred in numerous stage productions and began appearing in commercials. He promptly moved to Chicago to pursue an acting career, and worked on stage with improvisational company Improv Olympic.
Career
In 1994, Christian was the first male spokesman on Star Search. Later that year, he landed his first television role as Mike Kasnoff on the CBS daytime soap opera, As the World Turns. In 1995, he was nominated for "Hottest Male Star" by Soap Opera Digest Awards. He starred on the show until 1997 before moving to Los Angeles. In 1997, he made his primetime television debut playing a recurring role on the short-lived Fox series, Pacific Palisades produced by Aaron Spelling. He later guest-starred on sitcoms Ellen, Malcolm & Eddie, Men Behaving Badly and Step by Step.
In 1998, Christian starred alongside Bo Derek in the NBC primetime soap opera, Wind on Water. The series was cancelled after only two episodes aired. In 1999, he had a recurring roles in The WB fantasy series Charmed as Josh, the love interest of Piper Halliwell, played by Holly Marie Combs, and in the Fox teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 as Wayne Moses during its ninth season. He also made appearances on Love Boat: The Next Wave, Pensacola: Wings of Gold, V.I.P., CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Crossing Jordan, Spin City, The Drew Carey Show, Becker and Friends as Rachel Green's doctor Schiff. In 2000, Christian made his big scree debut in the comedy-drama Beautiful directed by Sally Field, and the following year played male lead in the monster horror film Tremors 3: Back to Perfection.
From 2002 to 2003, Christian starred as Wade Brixton in the WB superhero series, Birds of Prey. From 2004 to 2005 he starred alongside Lori Loughlin in the WB drama series, Summerland. In 2002, he also portrayed the role of Ross Rayburn in the soap opera One Life to Live. In 2005 he had a recurring role in the ABC legal comedy drama Boston Legal, and the following year appeared as potential cowboy boyfriend of Jack in an episode of the final season of Will & Grace. He also had recurring roles on Las Vegas and Runaway (2006 TV series). In film, Christian appeared in 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (2004), For Your Consideration (2006), Meet Dave (2008) and Small Town Saturday Night (2010). He also had male leading roles in the made-for-television movies Red Skies (2002), Undercover Christmas (2003), Murder in the Hamptons (2005), The Last Chance (2008) and Secrets of the Mountain (2010).
In 2008, Christian returned to daytime playing doctor Daniel Jonas on the NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives. He left the soap in 2017. From 2017 to 2018 he played Alan Mills in the Freeform drama series, Famous in Love. He later appeared in Lifetime movies Hidden Truth (2016), Unwritten Obsession (2017), Mommy Be Mine (2018), Instakiller (2018), Dangerous Cheaters (2022), and the Hallmark Channel's Silent Witness (2019) and Love in the Sun (2019).
Personal life
Christian married Deborah Quinn on May 18, 1996. The couple met in 1991 while they were both auditioning for a print ad in Chicago. They have a son Kameron (born in 2000), who produces music. Christian's stepdaughter is actress Taylor Cole. The two acted together in the television series Summerland and the Hallmark Channel made-for-tv film Ruby Herring Mysteries: Silent Witness. Christian and Quinn divorced in 2013.
On August 5, 2020, Shawn confirmed on The Locher Room show that he and Days of Our Lives star Arianne Zucker have been dating for several years.
Since 28 June 2021, they have been engaged, and were married on August 17, 2024.