For more than 20 years daytime fans have enjoyed the talented James Reynolds and his onscreen alter ego, Abe Carter. DOOL fans were rocked earlier this year when Salem’s stalwart police commander became the first in a string of murder victims at the hand of Salem’s latest serial killer.  The subsequent outpouring of support from Reynolds’ fans clearly sent the message home just how beloved his character has become over the years. “Their continued loyalty to Abe and to me” Reynolds expresses, “it really has touched me … there were many times when the fans really, really let me know how the felt about Abe and the show and I appreciate that.”  

Further confirmation of James Reynolds highly regarded standing in the daytime community came in the form of an Emmy nomination earlier this year in the hotly contested category of Best Supporting Actor. “It was wonderful.” begins Reynolds, “It was nice hearing my name called out when they were announcing the winner from all the fans.  So, that tells me as if I’d won already. You know the fans have always been very nice to me and hopefully I’ve reciprocated and they’ve always seemed to really appreciate Abe and the struggles he goes through and they’ve always been very, very kind.”  Being the only NBC actor nominated was quite an honor for this daytime veteran, but there were mixed emotions that came along with receiving the acting accolade. “In some ways it was bittersweet” Reynolds conveys, “because I felt there were some people who should have been nominated that weren’t.  I felt what a terrific honor that was to be singled out in that way.”  In the end, the award went to General Hospital’s Rick Hearst but for Reynolds the experience alone was thrilling. “The nomination is great.  It’s my second time.  I’ve been surprised each time and very pleasantly so and it makes me want to come back again.  Hopefully I’ll get another chance.”

Reynolds big heart and a strong spirit is evident by his generous support of many charitable events.  "Well, I try.  I do what I can." the actor modestly states, "I think it’s important to do and I’ve been involved in a number of things over the years."  This past June, fans had the opportunity to watch Reynolds and his fellow cast mates shoot some hoops for a good cause at the annual DOOL Basketball Game. This year, the annual event supported The Pasadena Ronald McDonald House. "Which is the first time that we have done it for them," recounts Reynolds, "and it went very, very well and we were very pleased and I expect we will be doing the fund raiser for them again next year." Reynolds and his wife, actress Lissa Layng Reynolds also returned to his hometown of Oskaloosa, Kansas this past July for the annual fundraising event, An Evening With James Reynolds.  

Reynolds stage talents have taken him from center stage to behind the scenes; he currently has stepped into the director's chair for two different plays that are currently in an extended run at the Fremont Centre Theatre in South Pasadena.  "We have two going on right now." states Reynolds.  "It’s an evening of two, one-acts called The Tangled Snarl and Murder Me Once and they’re two spoofs of the old film noir detective movies.  Very much like the Maltese Falcon and the Big Sleep, that kind of thing."  Reynolds continues to describe the plays as "extraordinarily funny shows that we have gotten nothing but rave reviews.  The LA Times has given us a rave review, Critic’s Choice and Backstage West."  The two shows have strong ties to DOOL; Arianne Zucker (Nicole, DOOL) and Mary Beth Evans (Sierra, ATWT and ex Kayla DOOL) both  perform in the plays. While Reynolds enjoys remaining in the background for these theatre productions, he has been known to unexpectedly make a surprise appearance.  "We have a character who doesn’t speak any lines" explains Reynolds, "and what we have done is make that a celebrity guest and one night I did do that because the celebrity guest didn’t show up that night."   

Despite such a busy schedule, Reynolds manages to take advantage of his free time by indulging in things that truly inspire and excite him.  "I love to read" asserts Reynolds, "I read every chance I get ... I would love to just sit there and read for like a day but I haven’t had that opportunity for a while." The written word is more than a past-time for Reynolds, at on point he intended on making a career of it.  "I had actually trained to be a journalist" explains Reynolds, "It’s what I wanted to do.  I think my ultimate ambition was to become a political columnist.  I loved politics and still do - so that was I think down the road what I want to do is write historical books, both fiction and non-fiction.  I went into the Marine Corps right after high school instead of college and actually made that decision and became a writer in the Marine Corps and so it just reinforced that desire.  When I got out I had intended to pursue that but then a friend of mine invited me to audition for a play and it was Kismet.  I realized this is where I belong.  I feel really great doing this and there went the journalism career, although I did quite frequently in my early years fall back on journalism.  I wrote for a few newspapers and edited a couple of magazines." 

Now that DOOL fans know that Abe is alive and kicking in New Salem, what does the future hold for him - especially since his "widow" Lexie is picking up the pieces and moving on with her life?  "I think he will not be happy at all." says Reynolds.  "Yeah, I think there would be a lot of emotions running through him.  You know there would be disappointment, I think  sadness, certainly some grief…..all of those things ... he loves Lexie so much and is devoted to her and has already forgiven her on a couple of major sins. It would be a very extremely emotional time."

When reflecting on his many years on DOOL, Reynolds cites the revelation of Abe's long lost son  Brandon as on of his top storylines, "Certainly I think that Brandon being the missing son ... that has to be one of my favorites." Reynolds does admit that he would have liked the father/son relationship explored further and enjoyed working with Brandon's portrayer, Matt Cedeno. "I would have liked to have seen more. I thought it was wrapped up pretty quickly."  Perhaps, Reynolds will get the opportunity after all when Cedeno returns for a brief stay to Salem this month.

Like the eye of a storm, amidst the craziness and uncertainty that has swirled around DOOL’s this past year, Reynolds remains calm, cool, collected and quite content with his current daytime roots. "I’m a soap opera advocate." affirms Reynolds. "Obviously, it’s been a good deal of my professional life in daytime television and in soap operas and I’m an advocate of it.  I think it is the genre that is as great or better at times than anything else out there….prime time, movies ...  all of it.  And should be seen as an equal of all of those."

Wonderful words from a wonderful man.  

For more information on James Reynolds, please visit his official site at: 

http://www.james-reynolds.com

For more information on "The Tangled Snarl" and "Murder Me Once" please visit:

 http://www.fremontcentretheatre.com/

James Reynolds was one of Robb “Soapboy” DiRusso’s last SoaptownUSA interviews before his untimely death in September of this year.  Robb’s love of the daytime genre shone through in his writing and in this conversation with James Reynolds, he sincerely spoke of how “the best actors are on daytime” and that “daytime fans are the most loyal.”