Cobra Kai's Sean Kanan talks up his most famous character on maiden visit to Dubai

American actor Sean Kanan's first-ever visit to the Middle East region saw him as part of the star-studded PopCon Middle East, the debut edition of the film and gaming convention held in Dubai over the past weekend.

Several stars including Chris Hemsworth, Katie Cassidy, and Stephen Amell attended the four-day event. They interacted with fans, signed autographs, posed for pictures, and engaged in panel talks at the event which was held at Dubai's Expo City.

Sean, meanwhile, famous for his portrayal of the hot-headed Mike Barnes in the Karate Kid Universe (films and the latest season of Cobra Kai) among several other movies and shows like Fortress, The Bold and the Beautiful, and General Hospital, held autograph and photograph sessions on November 11, 12, and 13.

We caught up with the actor at PopCon ME and discussed his maiden visit not only to Dubai but also the Middle East region, his most famous character Mike Barnes, and what Cobra Kai viewers can expect from him next.

"It is very exciting and interesting," he says of his visit. "Because we see so many things on the news about so many different people, and I have not had a lot of personal experience outside of the Untied States with Middle Eastern people."

"And, of course, Middle Eastern people aren't monolithic, they're all different. But, for me, it's been really interesting just to begin to make some interpersonal connections with people here in Dubai, and learn some about their perspective of life and everything else. And, also to see such amazing architecture here, it's been a very interesting and wonderful experience so far."

Sean has played A. J. Quartermaine on General Hospital and Deacon Sharpe on The Bold and the Beautiful, two of his popular on-screen characters, but Mike Barnes is undoubtedly his most famous role, for more reasons than one.

Playing Mike in The Karate Kid Part III was Sean's first notable film role. He was the central antagonist against Daniel LaRusso, played by Ralph Macchio. Decades later, he reprised his role as Mike in the latest season of spin-off series Cobra Kai. This time around, he's no villain, instead he's become a better man pursuing a lucrative career as a furniture salesman in The Valley. But, beware, he's still very much the karate-person he was back then.

Sean is the latest in a line of Karate Kid veterans like Ralph, William Zabka, Martin Kove, and Thomas Ian Griffith, to reprise his role after over 30 years, in Cobra Kai. And that is one of the main USPs of the show, to see characters return to reel life after three decades.

"I think one of the most successful things that the creators of the show have done is that they are able to straddle the fence, so to speak, between two age demographics," Sean said. "On the one hand, you have the younger generation that loves Cobra Kai, and maybe haven't even watched the original films until after Cobra Kai, then you've got the other generation, my age, which grew up with the films. And they like Cobra Kai for its nostalgic qualities. It's a very tricky thing to do, writing for two different age demographics. People laugh at different things, they have different frames of reference, different commonalities, and it is not easy to be able to tap into the things that different ages find funny.

"What I think is really cool about the show is that it effectively acts as a magnet in the sense that it attracts both generations. You can have parents and their kids, both enjoying the same thing. It brings them together, which I think is a very positive thing, especially in the world today."

And that's Sean's "two cents" on why Mike Barnes would be a great asset for a possible Season 6 of Cobra Kai, whether or not anyone else thinks that.