With his sharply defined features, piercing eyes and swaggering, take-no-prisoners style, Sean Kanan has made an immediate impression as The Bold and the Beautiful's Deacon. It's like we are looking into the face of pure evil - and it's a frightening, yet fascinating thing to see.

From the outset, Deacon was cold-blooded and clever in his negotiations with the Forresters and Spectras, pitting them against each other to see who would win custody of Little Eric. This is one tough hombre - consumed by terrible rage, bereft of any recognizable human emotion. Like some fire-breathing monster from mythology, he has seemed invincible. That is, until the formidable Mama Forrester (showcasing more splendid work from Susan Flannery) showed up at Deacon's apartment to confront him. What transpired between the two actors was electrifying. Deacon first spewed his standard litany of insults and threats of bodily harm, an icy stare and defiance suggested by both his body language and harsh words. Stephanie was undaunted: First, she called him a bully; then summoning up her maternal instincts, extraordinary patience and tough love, she cracked his hardened exterior.

At last, via the harshness in his voice and the grim set of his face, Kanan's Deacon revealed the dark and twisted underpinnings of his youth - a life built on abuse and cruelty. Kanan practically spit out the reasons why Deacon is such a miserable person. At the end of the scene, Deacon, vulnerable for the first moment since careening onto the show, suddenly found himself in Stephanie's arms, as helpless as a little boy. Deacon resisted Stephanie's pull just for a moment, then let himself, almost dazed, accept her embrace. It was a shattering moment made all the more powerful by the artistry of Sean Kanan.