The Young and The Restless: Shemar Moore Opens Up About His ‘Soapy’ Return as Malcolm
Back in February, the news broke that Shemar Moore was returning to Young and Restless as Malcolm Winters alongside Vivica A. Fox, who will be reprising her role of Stephanie Simmons. With his first Y&R air date set for Tuesday, April 7, the actor opened up about returning to his old daytime stomping grounds in an interview with TV Insider
You Can Go Home Again
Moore’s original run on Y&R lasted from 1994-2002, during which time the actor won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his work as Malcolm. After returning for another stint from 2004-05, he made brief visits in 2024, 2019, and 2023. In his new interview, the actor said that he felt “humbled and honored and nostalgic” about playing Malcolm again, but joked, “I also have a bone to pick with Young and the Restless because all I was asked was, ‘Would I be willing to come back for a cool little story?’ And my mother raised me to always remember where you came from, but I didn’t know they were gonna make me memorize 124 pages for three days of work! Even when I was Malcolm for real all those years back, I never did 124 pages!”
This visit not only allowed Moore to reunite with the other members of the Winters family, like Christel Khalil (Lily) and Bryton James (Devon), but also with Fox, who had previously played medical student Stephanie Simmons on Y&R from 1994-95. Following their characters’ brief romance on the soap, Moore and Fox worked together again, co-starring as husband and wife in the 2004 movie Motives, as well as its sequel, Motives 2: Retribution.
“Just to be able to stand on stage with her and talk and mess with her, and for Malcolm and Stephanie to be back with the storyline that they created, which is interesting and obviously soapy dramatic but fun to play, it wasn’t work,” Moore declared. “It was really just a reunion of sorts, a party of sorts, to celebrate what Young and Restless has done for us, to really give us momentum in the game for us to continue to pursue our dreams.”
One person who was no longer there, of course, was Moore’s beloved co-star, Kristoff St. John, who played Malcolm’s brother, Neil. St. John passed away in 2019, and Y&R scripted Neil’s passing soon thereafter. Recalled Moore of his early days on the show, “In the beginning, I was scared to death and nervous and insecure and really thought, ‘They’re gonna realize I suck and tap me on the shoulder and say,”‘Oops, we made a mistake, go home.’’’ But Kristoff wrapped me up, and he said, ‘I got you. I’m gonna help you find your way.’ And he was a big brother to me on the screen. He was a big brother to me and a mentor in real life.”
After leaving Y&R, Moore found success in prime time, starring on series like Criminal Minds and S.W.A.T., as well as the upcoming spinoff S.W.A.T. Exiles, and he’s grateful for the connections that he’s made with fans across the entirety of his career. “I was grocery shopping just last week,” the actor shared, “and a gentleman there, he must have been in his early 20s, he said, ‘I can’t believe I’m meeting you. Why are you shopping here?’ I was like, ‘Because I live down the street. I need eggs. I need toilet paper and paper towels. What do you mean?’ And he’s like, ‘Dude, you were my childhood with Criminal Minds, and my grandmama used to watch you on Young and the Restless.’ And just the fact that generations know me and know my face and I’ve affected themselves or family members, that’s a humbling, proud feeling.”
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Soap Opera Digest does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.