The Daytime Emmy winner reflects on his time on the show and the importance of Juneteenth.
Days of Our Lives star James Reynolds has been a part of the show for the last forty-three years, Abe Carver. Now the Emmy-winning actor is reflecting on his time with the show, the personal significance of Abe’s Juneteenth wedding, his experience working alongside Jackée Harry, and what it means to be a a part of the soap’s landmark 60th anniversary.
Reynolds was joined by Harry and recently spoke to Swoon on the wedding anniversary for the couples pairing. The actor was asked what it was like working Harry and said, “It’s very easy. She’s very easy to work with. She’s really, she’s a joy to work with and really just, you know, just a highlight, a highlight of my day. I’m looking at those scripts and see Paulina, I know I’m going to have a good day.”
Reynolds didn’t know that he was going to be paired with Harry’s character when she first joined the soap opera. He shared, “Well, I didn’t know we were going to pair at the beginning because they kind of made a little point of saying, well, we don’t know what’s going to go on.”
What Reynolds finds most interesting about the pairing is how different they are to each other. “I think they’re kind of dynamic together. I think this couples rather energetic. They aren’t a carbon copy of each other. They are different. They have different attitudes, different motivations and backgrounds. I think that’s kind of the opposite attract.”
Renyolds shared why he believes the character of Paulina works in Salem, sharing, “Jackée has a real wonderful ability of being comfortable with the other characters. I think that goes beyond Pauline’s relationship with Abe. That’s the relationship that she has with her daughter, with Johnny, and with other characters that come across her. So, the audience, I feel immediately accepted her because she felt as if she had been there for a long time. She was comfortable with everybody. That’s something not everybody can do.”
Abe and Paulina shared their landmark wedding on Juneteenth in 2022. Reynolds shared why this was so important to him, and why Juneteenth matters. The actor explained, “Well, I know a little bit about Juneteenth. I was very pleased. I thought that showed a depth of understanding that the show had for African American history and American history. I never want to separate the two. I want to be very clear. They’re the exact same thing, and especially in these times. I was so honored and pleased that we were able to represent what was basically a new National Holiday.” The actor continued, “I hope that people know what Juneteenth’s about. You know, I get a little afraid, like so many holidays we lose the meaning of what they’re about. Juneteenth is important for so many reasons. One is just the difference between now and then. Juneteenth, the news about the emancipation and proclamation didn’t land in Texas until Juneteenth. That actually means it didn’t land in California until even after that. But Juneteenth is celebrated because it took that long. You know now we can pick up phone and call from Virginia to Texas in a half a second. But I think it’s important that we realize that while we have moved technologically and scientifically in all those areas, we may not have moved as far as socially.”
Reynolds joined Days of Our Lives in 1981, reflecting on his time on the show the actor shared, “It will be 44 years in October. I tell people that I’ve been doing this longer than they’ve been alive. Now, I have to say longer than your parents have been alive, which is something I don’t look forward to saying very often. But it’s wonderful to be part of something that’s bigger than yourself and that has such real historic significance. Such real personal significance. I mean, we literally reach into people’s souls at time. This sounds odd, but I’ve talked to people that said, you cured me. I had this going on and you cured me” The actor continue to share, “It is nice when people get to come up and they say, ‘you know, I wanted to become an actor because of you.’ That’s such a lovely thing to hear from people, but it’s the idea that you are now passed into history because of the longevity of this show and what this show has said and done over time. I’m really quite honored to share this with Jackée.”
