John Finnegan is a fictional character from The Bold and the Beautiful, an American soap opera on the CBS network, portrayed by Tanner Novlan.
Created by executive producer and head writer Bradley Bell in 2020, Finn made his first appearance on July 23 of that year, and is introduced as the doctor who treats Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) after she sustains injuries in a motorcycle accident and develops a dependency to her pain pills. In addition to the character's presence as part of an opioid addiction storyline, Finn evolved and became Steffy's love interest, subsequent to the pair meeting when she landed at the hospital, and both experiencing an immediate attraction to one another and, essentially, fell in love at first sight. Months later, Finn impregnates Steffy, the duo gets engaged, and then delivers their son, Hayes Finnegan, via home birth. They later marry one another in an intimate ceremony at the Forrester Estate.
Finn's birth mother is later revealed to be villainess Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown). He is the result of an extramarital liaison between Sheila and Jack Finnegan (Ted King), who was married to Finn's adoptive mother, Li Finnegan (Naomi Matsuda). Without the knowledge of Li and Finn, Sheila relinquished Finn as a newborn, and Jack orchestrated a covert adoption of his own biological son to safeguard the secrecy of his affair. Sheila attempted to establish contact with Finn on numerous occasions, but the majority of these efforts proved unsuccessful or disjointed due to Steffy's disapproval and Finn's reluctance.
TV Source Magazine acclaimed Finn as a "strapping young doctor" who infused "a breath of fresh air" to the show; Carly Silver from Daytime Confidential asserted that the character was a "good seed." Commonly referred to by the portmanteau "Sinn" in magazines, on social media and internet message boards, the pairing of Finn and Steffy attracted a large fan following. Novlan has gained popularity among viewers, with his introduction and performance in the role receiving much praise from both critics and audiences alike. So much so that when the actor briefly exited the role in April 2022, it sparked major controversy and a social media uproar. It was later revealed that Novlan had never actually left the role of Finn and he reappeared on screen the following month in late May.
Creation Casting
Tanner Novlan's daytime television debut and casting was exclusively reported by TVLine on July 9, 2020, alongside Delon de Metz's as a recast of Zende Forrester Dominguez. Novlan was previously known for appearing as "Struggling Actor" in a Liberty Mutual commercial and guest starring appearances on primetime series such as Modern Family, Mohawk Girls, Rizzoli & Isles, and Roswell, New Mexico. Soap Hub Soap Hub, Soaps In Depth, and Soap Opera Digest specified that Novlan, as John "Finn" Finnegan, was tapped to play Steffy Forrester's (Wood) potential love interest.
On June 17, 2020, after fourth months of hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States production shutdown, the series became one of the first American scripted television series to resume recording, although production went on a one-week hiatus to accommodate modifications to its protocols. With the accompanying news that the series would return with original episodes on July 20, 2020, Deadline Hollywood announced Novlan's first episodic appearance was slated to be July 23.
Novlan revealed he had secured the role back in March 2020 but had to keep it quiet due to the coronavirus shutdown. He explains that he "wasn't able to speak about it or tell anyone about it because we didn't know how long the shutdown was going to be." Novlan felt that he was in bit in a pickle due to the fact, that "my family, my mom especially, has been a life- long B&B fan. I mean, she loves the show. Our family dog's name was Thorne — with an e — so I remember ever since I was young hearing the theme song, hearing the storylines, so it was so exciting, and a real honor to be welcomed into that family." When speaking about the shooting method, Novlan, express that "I don't know their old way of filming, so this is my new normal," but "it's been such a unique process but it's been amazing how all the producers have come together to figure this out and put forth these groundbreaking guidelines, making things safe and efficient and being able to work around all of this and keep everything alive."
Novlan is married to Kayla Ewell, who previously portrayed Caitlin Ramirez. She returned to play an intimacy double or a stand-in (from September 2020 to March 2021) for Wood as a result of the onset protocols. Due to social distancing on set slowly coming to an end in the filming process, since May 2021, Novlan and Wood, began filming their own intimate scenes.
In April 2022, after nearly two years on canvas, it was announced Novlan had exited, after the show had decided to subsequently kill off Finn. He revealed to Soap Opera Digest that he, himself and alongside the entire cast, were "pretty surprised" in regards to his character's direction and most predominantly, co-star, Wood, who he described as rendered "speechless" due to the magnitude of the 'Sinn' fanbase.
Novlan re-appeared on the series in the episode dated May 23, when Finn was revealed to be alive, in a coma, to the viewers. On that same day, Novlan revealed during a segment of The Talk, that he had never actually left the series and had to keep Finn's resurrection a secret.
Development Characterization
On the conceptualization and significance of the character's name, particularly of "Finnegan", Bradley Bell reveals in TV Soap Australia, that the name was an inspiration taken from past cast members such as Finnegan George, who portrayed Will Spencer from 2018 to 2019 and Jennifer Finnigan, who had played the role of Bridget Forrester from 2000 to 2004. He also denotes that it honors "all the great 'Finnegans' we've been in touch with over the years" and that Bell admitted that he has "friends with the name Finn." He adds on that "it seemed to fit [Novlan] and its unique."
Bell describes Finn as a "young, accomplished, kind, handsome doctor." Bell continues in explaining that "he's a fresh new presence. Finn has some mystery to him." Novlan notes that Finn "is a helper. it's in his nature. He's a doctor. I think he can't help but fall for a girl like Steffy. He's got a big heart. Maybe too big. And I think sometimes that gets him into trouble." Carly Silver from Daytime Confidential called Finn a "good doctor" and a "good seed." Meanwhile, Soap Central described Finn as a "hot new doc" and "Mr. Wonderful." TV Source Magazine described Finn as a "strapping young doctor" who instilled "a breath of fresh air" to the canvas.
Novlan emphasizes that Finn "really does have other people's best interests in mind, although that can sometimes get cloudy." Alternatively, Novlan indicates that "being a doctor, Finn is obviously very patient. He's pretty black and white and analytical." Novlan accentuates and underlines that Finn "has been able to kind of change the perspective of a lot of the other characters that have been in these storylines for a while now and there's a fresh face to deal with. Maybe he doesn't have all the knowledge of the past but sees the situation for what it is in the moment and I think that's really refreshing for the B&B fans." Janet Di Lauro from Soap Hub characterizes Finn as "kind and caring, smart and savvy; the type of man worthy of the Forrester fashion heiress." Novlan states, "for Finn, one of his values is having faith in people."
In December 2022, Adam-Michael James of SoapCentral wrote that Finn became the "Most Rejuvenated Character" of the show, noting that "something new emerged [...] when he woke up from his Sheila-inflicted coma." James continued that when Finn "realized the level of his mama's crazy", he was able to "matched wits with her, occasionally even getting the upper hand." When Finn uncovered that Sheila had faked her own death, James noted that Finn "traded his stethoscope for a detective pipe", which permitted for the addition of an "interesting" layer to the character.
In an October 2023 interview with Soap Opera Digest, Novlan expresses that Finn "is a good man. He is a good husband and father. He is a dedicated doctor." when being asked "What is your favorite thing about playing Finn?" In spite of the horrid acts committed against him by Sheila when she went under cardiac arrest at his hospital, Novlan notes that "he always tries to do what is right, even when it came to saving Sheila’s life."
Backstory Entertainment Weekly exclusively reported on June 21, 2021, that Charmed, General Hospital actor and soap veteran Ted King and actress Naomi Matsuda had been cast as Finn's parents, Jack and Li Finnegan, respectively, in what would be the part of the development of Finn's "very dramatic backstory." King first aired on July 30, while Matsuda followed on August 2, 2021. It was later revealed onscreen that Jack and Li, were Finn's adoptive parents who had taken him in as a newborn. Li is likewise a physician, surgeon, specifically, and it was revealed that Finn opt to follow in his mother's footsteps. On August 2, 2021, Soap Opera Digest broke the exclusive announcement that Kimberlin Brown, who is well-known, for playing the notorious villainess Sheila Carter would return to the role on August 6, 2021, with the accompanying revelation that Sheila is Finn's biological mother.
It is later divulged that Jack, is in fact, Finn's biological father and he conceived Finn with Sheila, while married to Li. Both Li and Finn were unaware of this information in the entirety of Finn's life, as Jack arranged this secret adoption and took on this deceptive route in order to hide his affair with Sheila.
In September 2023, Finn's cousin and Li's niece, Luna Nozawa, portrayed by Lisa Yamada, debuted onscreen as a fashion student, interning, at Forrester Creations. Romy Park in the role of Poppy Nozawa, Luna's mother, Li's sister and Finn's aunt, stepped onto the scene in October of that year. Finn and Luna were revealed to have spent their childhood together. However, they lost contact over time due to the sibling estrangement of their respective mothers.
Relationship with Steffy
Previewing Finn's introduction as the romantic interest for the established character Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) in the summer of 2020, Bradley Bell expressed that Steffy "is an accomplished mother, businesswoman, and fashion icon. She's an independent woman. Finn is a doctor and has his own life and his own desires and goals separate from hers. They're two complete individuals who can hopefully find a special love with one another."
Finn enters the canvas as the emergency physician who treats Steffy after she is involved in a motorbike accident. When Steffy wakes up at the hospital, the pair immediately lock eyes, strongly suggesting a love at first sight experience. After she is discharged, Finn prescribes Steffy pain medication, most specifically opioids, for her hip and back pain. Realizing that he lives in close proximity to her, Finn soon begins visiting Steffy, offering medical care, psychological counselling, and friendship. As Steffy becomes more vulnerable, the two open up to each other about their past emotional burdens, and a mutual attraction begins to grow. On Finn's feelings for Steffy, Novlan noted: "I think he's slowly learning more and more about her, because at first, he is very professional and very clinical. But as he sees the dynamics of the [Forrester] family, and he's able to observe the relationships that are around her, and he learns how amazing she is, and of course, how beautiful and intriguing and interesting a woman she is, how could you not get sucked in?"