Sean Hankinson
Sean Hankinson is an American film and theater actor. He is best known for his role as Ethan Blaire in Days of Our Lives, Ken in Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse, and Ben in Adult Swim Yule Log.
Early life
Hankinson was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, living briefly in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Los Angeles, California. He attended Tucson High Magnet School, a performing arts public school. Hankinson said he had wanted to be an actor since age 6 and began working professionally at age 14.During college, Hankinson portrayed Alan Strang in the Chapman University production of Equus, for which he won an OC Weekly Theater Award for Best College Performance. His performance was described as "brave" and "near-perfect" by OC Weekly, which further stated that his "sheer acting skill drew the viewer into the character beneath the skin." In a review, The Los Angeles Times described Hankinson's portrayal of Strang as "mercurial" and "both intricate and thorough."
Acting career
After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts, Hankison moved to New York City, and began acting in a variety of films and television shows, including a starring role as the character Ben on the long-running web series Prom Queen produced by Michael Eisner for Vuguru and The CW. He also performed in the soap opera Days of Our Lives as Ethan Blaine in 2008.Throughout the 2010s, he also worked as a voice actor, including voicing the character Ken in the official Mattel comedy web series Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse from 2012 to 2015. The series experienced renewed popularity on Netflix in 2023 following the release of Greta Gerwig's Barbie that year. Hankinson described the role as a "dream job" and one of his favorites.
During 2016, Hankinson apprenticed at an Off-Broadway theater, and later in 2017 starred in the Off-Broadway touring production of Matt Murphy's Sex Tips for [Straight Women from a Gay Man], based on the cult classic best-selling book by Dan Anderson and Maggie Berman of the same name. The production received mixed reviews, though Hankinson received praise for his improvisational skills.
He later relocated to Atlanta in 2019, and landed guest roles in shows like Dynasty and Naomi, as well as a starring role in the 2022 surreal meta-horror comedy Adult Swim Yule Log. He portrayed blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in the 2024 biographical historical drama Reagan about U.S. president Ronald Reagan.