Sean Kanan Says He Helped Ron Howard’s Brother Clint Get Cast as an Unhoused Man onThe Bold and the Beautiful(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Steve Kanan; Clint Howard.Photo:Amy Graves/Getty ; Astrid Stawiarz/Getty

Amy Graves/Getty ; Astrid Stawiarz/Getty

Sean Kananis recalling the serendipitous way thatClint Howardlanded his role onThe Bold and the Beautiful.

While Clint, 65, is the brother of Hollywood heavyweightRon Howard, it was actually Kanan, 58, who hooked Clint up with the soap opera gig.

“I was at the Hollywood Show, which is kind of a memorabilia show, and Clint was there. We were talking, and it was great talking with Clint,” the actor — who has portrayed Deacon Sharpe onBoldsince 2000 — recounts exclusively to PEOPLE.

He continues, “Then all of a sudden I looked up and I saw [Boldproducer] Casey Kasprzyk and I said, ‘What are you doing here?’ He goes, ‘Well, I’m actually looking for someone to play a homeless guy in a scene that you’re doing.’ I said, ‘Stay right here. I’ve got the guy. You’re not even going to need makeup.’ "

“Casey’s like, ‘Oh my God. This is great,’ " Kanan remembers.

Clint not only scored the part on the spot but ended up impressing producers so much that his role as Tom Starr, an unhoused man, was expanded following his April 26 debut.

“They brought Clint on for, I think, two shows, and he was so terrific that he wound up doing [13 episodes],” Kanan notes.

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“It was just an amazing experience having Clint on the show,” theCobra Kaistar tells PEOPLE. “He’s a tremendous actor, and he’s become a very good friend. That was really nice.”

Clint’s showbiz career first kicked off alongside his filmmaker brother Ron, 70, onThe Andy Griffith Showwhen they were young kids. The siblings have since worked together on several movies, as well as their 2022 memoir,The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family, which became aNew York Timesbest seller.

Clint Howard (left) and Ron Howard.Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal/Getty

Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal/Getty

Clint opened up about his relationship with Ron in 2022 while appearing onThe Drew Barrymore Show. “I love my brother. He’s a great older brother,” he said at the time. “He’s a hall-of-fame movie director and he’s a better big brother than he is a movie director.”

He noted that he discovered at a young age that Ron’s job as director means he is the one in charge on set. “I learned my lesson early on. I was probably in … my early 20s and yet I had to learn that ultimately, he’s the boss, he’s making the decisions,” Clint said.

Ron added that working with Clint means he will get honest feedback. “When I do have the opportunity to direct Clint, it’s always a joy because … he also will tell me the truth,” the Oscar winner said onThe Drew Barrymore Show.

Clint has previously spoken about how his older brother has served as a mentor over the course of his career.

source: people.com