Sean Kanan loves to act.

The 27-year-old Cleveland native also loves daytime, his GENERAL HOSPITAL castmates and his character, A.J. Quartermaine. He so enjoys the medium that any lack of participation he may have in the growth of the show angers him. Not angry to the point of making a stink, but incensed because he wants to work - a lot! - and be given something meaty to do and someone in particular to kiss.

This January, Sean will have finished up two years as a Port Charles denizen, having had no prior knowledge of daytime's inner workings before landing the role of A.J. "I came in with no expectations other than doing the work that I do," the actor explains, "which is, for me, the most important thing. There's a lot about it that I like and there's a lot that I find very different in comparison to a lot of the other work that I've done. (Sean won critical praise for his role in the theatrical film "The Karate Kid 3," and recently appeared in two Perry Mason TV movies, STEP BY STEP and MTV's DEAD AT 21).

"When doing a soap opera, you're constantly doing things that you might not expect your character to do, which becomes a challenge to maintaining the integrity of the character, because you're doing one thing one minute, and the next minute you're doing something that you might not have believed you would do previously."

All this coming from a man who certainly knows his character. He should. Sean admits there's a lot of similarities between he and A.J. "I have a bit of a temper like A.J. does," Sean reveals. "I'm also a very emotional, passionate guy." The actor pauses for a moment and takes his response in a totally different direction. "I think that A.J. is very much on the backburner right now; I don't think he's being utilized to his full potential. When I came on the show, I played a guy who was a very insecure character who covered it with a lot of bravado; he was constantly dealing with his alcoholism.

"I think that A.J. has gotten away from a bit of that. I'd like to see him become more in touch with the insecurity that surrounds him constantly: trying to get the approval of Alan and Edward, the in-fighting with Ned, and climbing the hierarchical ladder of ELQ, all the while balancing the fact that inside, A.J. is a rather unstable and insecure young guy, desperately trying to be okay. I think that somewhere along the line, that has become a little bit opaque. But that's the nature of soap operas: Everybody's part is sort of cyclical; you work a lot one moment, you don't the next. I am displeased with the fact that I don't think A.J. is being utilized to his full potential, but I'm cognizant of the fact that it's an ensemble cast of 35 people-plus, and everybody gets their turn - and I'm more than happy to support my other castmates until my turn comes."

Timewise, it doesn't seem to matter much that the versatile actor is not currently an integral part of the Port Charles canvas. Besides numerous personal appearances and taking stabs at stand-up comedy, he's hard at work on an 18-minute short film tentatively titled "Mojave USA," which he wrote, produced and performs in. In addition, he has a successful four-year relationship with an L.A. restaurateur named "Athena" that necessitates much of his time.

If only his on-screen persona's love life was that fulfilled. "I think that A.J., like his father," Sean offers, "has the potential to have a lot of love interests. Alan is a classic womanizer and A.J. is a very flirtatious and emotionally-driven guy and desperately looking for love from somebody, and for one reason or another, I haven't gotten a love interest on the show. They play with a lot of stuff and nothing has materialized. I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me. I've been vocal about it and the fans have been vocal about it, and I think there comes a point where you just have to accept the fact that there are other priorities, and if that's the case, that's the case. There's not much I can do about it.

"I don't want to be one of those actors who's a pain in the ass, always giving storyline ideas. I've been very vocal about ideas that I've had, and they've been very good to me about all of them. I think I'm going to sit back and hope for the best, and hope that eventually they see that A.J. could have a very hot romance."

And with whom would this hot young actor hope to have a smoldering on-screen romance? "Katherine," he answers with no hesitation. "I love Mary Beth Evans. I have a huge crush on her; I tell her all the time. I think she's beautiful and she's a very good actress, and I like the fact that she's a little older than I am. A.J. and Katherine are both very driven, ambitious people, and now that she's moved into the Quartermaine wing, i think it would be nice if A.J. came over and welcomed her to the house."

Like GH fans all over America have welcomed Sean Kanan into theirs.