A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Shawn Christian grew up acting purely for the love of it. “Acting in and writing for talent shows and school plays was simply a small town passion until I graduated from Ferris State University.” After earning a degree in Marketing Shawn left the next day to pursue his dream as an actor by relocating to Chicago where he honed his acting skills with a variety of acting coaches and styles. He began to find his true voice with the improvisational company “Improv Olympic.” Just as he was about to begin Second City in Chicago Shawn got his first big break portraying working class anti-hero ‘Mike Kasnoff’ on the New York-based CBS daytime drama “As The World Turns.” After a three year run he took the leap to Los Angeles. He landed recurring roles on ABC’s “Boston Legal” as delinquent husband to Julie Bowen and wily journalist on NBC’s “Crossing Jordan” and nemesis to Josh Duhamel on “Las Vegas.” He returned to his comic roots with a roles on the HBO series “12 Miles of Bad Road,” “Friends,” “Will and Grace,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Ellen,” “Becker,” and “Coupling.” Shawn experienced more than a few failed pilots and shows until he starred opposite Lori Loughlin in The WB’s hit series “Summerland” and opposite Jami Gertz and Tyne Daly in the CBS hit movie “Undercover Christmas.” Additional television work includes starring opposite Paige Turco in the NBC hit family movie “Secrets of the Mountain,” “C.S.I.,” and “Shark” with James Woods, as well as lead roles in John Woo’s action drama pilot “Red Skies” for USA and quirky spy comedy “Spy Girl” opposite Jennie Garth for NBC. Shawn was excited to delve into darker characters in the role of convicted killer Danny Pelosi in “Murder in the Hamptons” and dangerous con man in “Ghost Whisperer.” Shawn started picking up film roles in Christopher Guest’s feature film “For Your Consideration,” “Shopgirl” with Claire Danes directed by Steve Martin, “How To Leave Your Lover,” “Almost You,” and “Beautiful,” with Minnie Driver directed by Sally Field. Shawn appears in a supporting role in Eddie Murphy’s film “Meet Dave” and stars as the lead in the cult franchise hit “Tremors III” as the offbeat Zen cowboy Jack Sawyer.
Shawn Executive Produced, Co-Directed and starred in the independent film “Spanners,” which won the award for BEST SCI-FI film at the 2015 Hollywood Independent Reel Film Festival, and BEST ACTOR at the 2015 Hollywood Underground Film Festival. He stars opposite Chris Pine, Oscar nominee John Hawks and Oscar winner Octavio Spencer in “Small Town Saturday Night.” Shawn just finished a long run as ‘Dr. Daniel Jonas’ on NBC’s “Days of Our Lives.” Since leaving the show near the end of 2015, Shawn has filmed three films. Villainous street hustler “Lance” in Suspense Thriller “Last Seen in Idaho,” Duplicitous killer in “Hidden Truth,” and his latest took him back into comedy with the film “Savannah Sunrise.”
In addition to acting Shawn is the Executive Director of Operations and Marketing for the non-profit youth mentorship camps ARROW-HEART ADVENTURE CAMPS. “I believe every kid is at risk. Arrow-Heart is dedicated to enriching, inspiring and empowering young teens through exciting and challenging adventures which nurtures young teens with the virtues of Commitment, Communication, Courage, Compassion, Critical Thinking and Character.” Arrow-Heart Adventure camps operate in Idaho and Detroit with progress being made to open in Sacramento, Los Angels, Portland and Atlanta. Arrow-Heart.org
