Shawn Butler

Actor Sean Blakemore, known for his small roles on soap operas such as Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless,[3] originated the role of Shawn Butler on January 24, 2011, on a recurring basis. In April, it was reported that Blakemore had signed a contract with the series.[4][5] When Blakemore started to appear less frequently in February 2012, many fans were led to believe Blakemore had been left go. It was later confirmed that Blakemore had taken some time off to shoot a movie.[6][7]

During an interview with BE Magazine in October 2011, Blakemore discusses his character. He describes Shawn as someone with professional skills, but also a man with a lot of personal issues.[8] Blakemore also states,

He is a bad boy turned good. He finds it hard to try to win over people who he comes in contact with, as far as trying to prove himself to them considering his past.

—Blakemore BE Interview[8]

In May 2015, Blakemore announced his exit from the role,[9] exiting during the May 29 episode.[10] In November of the same year and April 2016, he made brief guest appearances.[11][12]

On April 1, 2021, it was announced Blakemore had "inked a deal" to reprise the role;[13][14] he returned during the final moments of the April 21 episode.[15][16] In February of the following year, Blakemore announced his exit from the role, citing "other obligations."[17]

Blakemore has complimented the writers of the series for his character's careful introduction. "He was hired [to kidnap Brenda], but it was brilliant how they introduced him with Molly. You could see Shawn for who he was. He worked for the wrong side but he had ethics. He came to Port Charles to shake it up but after meeting Molly, it was his life that was shaken up," Blakemore stated.[18]

After a casting call was put out for an African-American teenager, there was some speculation that the role was going to be introduced as Shawn's son. [19] This led to rumors that Shawn's family life was going to be explored, and more of his backstory would be revealed.[20][21] The role was revealed to be T.J., the son of the Marine that Shawn had accidentally killed in the war. T.J., portrayed by Krys Meyer first appeared on January 17, 2012.[22] When T.J. started to date Molly Lansing, there was much speculation that Shawn would become involved with Molly's mother, Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn).[23]

During the summer of 2012, it was confirmed that Shawn was going to be paired with Alexis romantically. Grahn said of the pairing "I love working with Sean Blakemore. I think he's very cool. His character needs to be more dimensionalized, but I'm all for putting Shawn and Alexis together. Frank and [head writer] Ron Carlivati know that I need to have a relationship on the show. Maybe they're just experimenting, seeing what works, what doesn't. It'd be good to start over with Alexis and Shawn and approach this thing again. Why are the two of them together? What's behind the attraction? I don't think they even know each other."[24][25]

Many fans and critics alike became interested in the potential of Shawn and Carly (Laura Wright). Then head writer, Robert Guza, Jr. began toying with the idea, even promoting an angle where Shawn and Carly fall for one another, with Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher) standing by.[27] However, due to Shawn's lack of storyline, many fans were against the pairing. But, what some fans like was that the story would be something new, and different from the characters Carly was usually paired with. When asked about the potential pairing, Wright revealed that she liked that the writers were playing them as the "Ross and Rachel" of daytime.[28] When GH was appointed a new head writer, many believed the new blood, Garin Wolf would try something new; and Wolf appeared to be going in the direction.[29] Wolf went ahead with the couple's first kiss on October 27, 2011 and caught the attention of many media outlets including, Entertainment Weekly.[29] The pairing came in at No. 2 on Daytime Confidential's list of the Best Couples of 2011, saying that in the midst of rest of the stories being told at the time, which caused the ratings to dwindle, the potential pairing was the only one that showed promise.[26] Yahoo! TV also praised the potential pairing citing chemistry between Blakemore and Wright as "undeniable"[30] and they could potentially become a fan favorite couple; the article also said that Shawn was better than most of the men Carly had been previously paired with, most of whom were mobsters, with the exception of her estranged husband, Jax.[30] The article also discusses the show's need for an interracial relationship to bring some diversity to the series. It mentions the short lived pairing of Ethan Lovett (Nathan Parsons) and Maya Ward (Annie Ilonzeh) as having great potential before the writers broke up the pairing.[30] Sara Bibel of Xfinity also praised the pairing, and said they had the potential to become a truly great love story. She went on to say, "Carly’s newly single and has a thing for criminals. Shawn’s kindness towards Molly (Haley Pullos) indicates he will get along well with Carly’s kids. Blakemore is another one of casting director Mark Teschner’s amazing finds — even if he represents a continuation of GH’s annoying habit of naming characters after the actors who play them. It takes a strong presence to go toe-to-toe with Wright. They have combustible chemistry. The characters also have enough internal and external obstacles that their story practically writes itself. Shawn’s PTSD gives him anger issues — though after dealing with Sonny, Jason and Michael, Carly could probably teach a course in anger management. Shawn is currently at odds with the most important men in Carly’s life, Sonny and Jason. Shawn also brings some much needed ethnic diversity to GH, where people of color are usually relegated to the hospital — far from the center of the action."[31]

In 2012, Blakemore received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Shawn.[32] The nomination came as a surprise to many because Shawn had only been on the canvas for a few months. Blakemore had to say on the experience, "It’s a phenomenal experience. I’m so excited to be recognized first of all by your counterparts who say, “Hey, we really appreciate what you have to offer.” Then doing the show for such a short time, it's such a humbling experience and honor. I'm almost at a loss for words."[23] Eventually, Blakemore did not win the award, losing to fellow GH cast member Jonathan Jackson, who portrays Lucky Spencer.[33] In 2016, Blakemore received his second nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a drama series and won the award for the first time.[34]

• Shawn Butler profile-SoapCentral.com