• Bios
Shawn Christian

Shawn Christian | Dr. Daniel Jonas

A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Shawn Christian has enjoyed a successful and varied career as an actor. After graduating from Michigan's Ferris State University with a degree in Marketing, Shawn relocated to Chicago. It was there that he honed his acting skills on stage with the improvisational company "Improv Olympic."

Shawn then landed the role of working class anti-hero 'Mike Kasnoff' on the New York-based CBS daytime drama "As The World Turns." After spending three seasons on "World," Shawn moved to Los Angeles and landed recurring roles on "Crossing Jordan" and "10-8," as well as "Charmed" and "Birds of Prey" for the WB. He returned to his comic roots with the role of Jennifer Aniston's gynecologist on "Friends," and guest starring roles on "The Drew Carey Show," "Spin City," "Coupling," and "Becker." Additional television work includes: "C.S.I.," "Malcolm & Eddie," "Ellen," "Men Behaving Badly," "Step By Step," "Will & Grace," and lead roles in the action drama pilots "Red Skies" for USA and "Spy Girl," opposite Jennie Garth, for NBC. In addition, he starred opposite Jami Gertz and Tyne Daly in the CBS hit movie "Undercover Christmas." He can also be seen in the feature films "Shopgirl," with Steve Martin, "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover," "Almost You," "Beautiful," directed by Sally Field, and starring opposite Michael Gross in the Universal Pictures feature, "Tremors III." Shawn also starred opposite Lori Loughlin in WB'S hit series "Summerland." Shawn was the lead in Lifetime's original Movie "Murder in the Hampton's," and had recurring roles on ABC's hit show "Boston Legal," as well as NBC's show "Las Vegas."

Shawn just finished a supporting role in Eddie Murphy's new film for 20th Century Fox, "Starship Dave," and can next be seen in the independent film "Killer Moves."

Shawn currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

Daniel Jonas was a world-renowned surgeon who came to Salem at the request of his godfather Victor Kiriakis, who needed the best surgeon to work on his son, Bo who was gravely ill. After saving Bo's life, Daniel began dating Bo's daughter Chelsea. Worried about getting close to someone, he pushed Chelsea away. But that didn't stop Daniel from having an affair with Chelsea's grandmother Kate. When Chelsea found out about the affair, she couldn't bring herself to forgive either Daniel or Kate.

Daniel eventually developed feelings for Chloe Lane, who was engaged to Kate's son Lucas at the time. It wasn't long before the two gave into their passion and had an affair. Afterwards, Chloe pushed Daniel away, knowing she had to do the right thing and work things out with Lucas. Witnessing the exchange between them, Kate decided to wreak havoc on Chloe's life, and poisoned her. It was Daniel who saved Chloe's life. Daniel was also able to tape Kate's confession of attempting to murder Chloe.

After this near-death experience, Chloe and Daniel's attraction was stronger than ever and they decided to pursue a relationship after Chloe broke things off with Lucas for good.

Daniel was shocked when his old friend Carly Manning returned to Salem to work at the hospital. Carly dropped a huge bombshell on Daniel when she announced that she had his child years ago and gave it up for adoption - which was also the real reason for her reappearance in Salem. She believed her daughter was residing there and she was right: Melanie Layton was Daniel and Carly's daughter.

While bonding with his daughter, Daniel faced a setback in his relationship when Chloe had a hysterical pregnancy, which gave way to mental instability. Growing jealous of Daniel's relationship with both Carly and Melanie, Chloe ran into Philip's arms for a one-night stand. Chloe became pregnant and was convinced the child was Daniel's, especially after a botched paternity test proved it. Daniel was ecstatic to have a baby with Chloe and make her his wife. But after they got married, his life began to unravel. Parker was born and Daniel found out he wasn't his father; Philip was. To make matters worse, Philip is also his son-in-law!

Daniel met Jennifer while working at the hospital and the two began casually dating. Both having come fresh off divorces, they wanted to take things slow. But Daniel soon found himself very happy with Jennifer and wanted to move things along. Jennifer returned his feelings, and the two began happily dating. On the night of the Horton Square dedication, Daniel asked Jennifer to move in with him. Just as he got the question out, Jack, Jennifer's ex-husband fell from the above balcony onto the cake that Jennifer and Daniel were standing next to. Suddenly, Jennifer had a big decision to make - Jack or Daniel. Daniel realized that Jennifer needed to give her family with Jack a fair shot. So, he went to Jennifer and told her that he would back off while she gave Jack a chance. Around the same time, Daniel received some medical test results back. Because he and Melanie were both related to Maggie, they were tested for MG. Neither had the gene, but Daniel was still experiencing unexplained tremors. Lexie finally diagnosed him with intention tremors, probably caused by a small stroke he suffered in his sleep. The tremors were incurable, which meant that for the time being, he could no longer be a surgeon. This news, coupled with his grief over losing Jennifer, prompted Daniel to leave Salem for a bit to clear his head. When Daniel returned to Salem, he decided to focus on being a doctor and officially broke things off with Jennifer. But when Jack died in the horrific gas-leak explosion, suddenly Jennifer seemed to be an option again. Will Daniel and Jennifer rekindle their romance?

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