DAYS’ James Reynolds Reveals What’s on His Daytime Emmy Reel

James Reynolds has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor for his role as Abe Carver on Days of our Lives. The actor sat down with Soap Hub to talk about his nod.

James Reynolds Talks Daytime Emmys

Reynolds was the recipient of Soap Hub’s Lifetime Achievement Award last year at the Soap Hub Awards and this year, he’s up for another accolade — the Daytime Emmy for Lead Actor. Reynolds won this honor in 2018 for the storyline in which his son, Theo (then Kyler Pettis), had been accidentally shot by JJ Deveraux (Casey Moss). Read on to find out what got Reynolds a nomination this year.

Soap Hub: Congratulations on your nomination! How did you learn the good news?
James Reynolds: Thank you. I was at home. Lia [Maiuri, Director, Communications, DAYS] called and she said she had good news. I’d forgotten what day the nominations were coming out so I thought I’d won a trip to the Mediterranean or something. She said you’re nominated! You send your tape in and you hope. When it actually happened, I was very pleased and surprised.

Soap Hub: What’s on your reel?
James Reynolds: It’s from the Abe stand-alone episode last October when Abe dies after being knocked in the head by TR [Coates, played by William Christian] and Abe goes to visit Lexie in heaven. They got an actress [named Jennifer Lee] to play Lexie. She was excellent. It was important to me and to the show. [Jennifer] gave it everything she could. I chose scenes from that stand alone but the episode itself was quite a wonderful honor.

I don’t think DAYS has had many stand-alone episodes. I was quite overcome by Abe’s. You look back over your career, and there are moments that stand out. Having this tribute from the show…and being honored by my castmates…it’s all been very special. The scenes on my reel are a little bit different from what I’ve done before. They’re quieter, more looking inward. I enjoyed putting the scenes together.

Soap Hub: Can flashbacks from the stand-alone episode be included on your reel?
James Reynolds: Yes. They can only be, I believe, 37% of your reel. The editors got it to the right [length]. It was well-done and it worked.

Soap Hub: I would think the flashbacks need to be a part of the reel as those moments inform how a character responds to what’s going on currently.
James Reynolds: Exactly. It’s the totality of the years.

Soap Hub: Is it ‘easier’ going into a competition like this having already won?
James Reynolds: It will be exactly the same [in that] I’m very nervous. Actually, it’s a little different now because I do see ‘Miss Emmy’ every day. I feel grateful every time I look at her. So that makes it a little different, but my heart will be pounding. When I got the nomination, it felt like winning. It was so extraordinary. If I hear my name, I will be thrilled.

Soap Hub: Let’s talk about your fellow nominees. You know Eric [Martsolf, Brady], of course, but have you met John McCook (Eric Forrester, The Bold and the Beautiful), Peter Bergman (Jack Abbott), and Jason Thompson (Billy Abbott) both of The Young and the Restless?
James Reynolds: Eric and I have decided that we should tie. We need to tie for this. It’d be great. I’ll be very happy for Eric if he wins as I know he’d be happy for me. I do know Peter. He’s a very nice man. We’ve gotten to know each other a bit over the years. I’ve been very appreciative of that. I am quite respectful of his work. I haven’t met John or Jason, officially. Maybe that will happen this year?

Soap Hub: How do you feel about the Daytime Emmys being back on primetime and network TV this year?
James Reynolds: Not to disparage Facebook — in fact, the year I won the show was on Facebook. But it’ll be nice to have the show back on the network and in primetime.

Soap Hub: We know one DAYS actor will be going home with the gold — John Aniston (Victor Kiriakis) is getting the Lifetime Achievement Award.
James Reynolds: I think it’s wonderful. I’m just so happy for John. He’s a wonderful man. What a nice surprise to hear that he was this year’s recipient. John goes back to Love of Life [as Eddie Aleata] and Search for Tomorrow [as Martin Tourneur]. I remember doing an appearance with John in Ontario. When John walked out on stage, the audience just went crazy. He’s this handsome, debonair guy. This award is very deserving.

The 49th Annual Daytime Emmys air on Friday, June 24 at 9 p.m. on CBS. Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes and keep an eye on Soap Hub’s social accounts (see below) for live coverage throughout the evening. For more about what’s coming up in Salem, check out all the latest that’s been posted on DAYS spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

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