Y&R’s Bryton James Opens up About BTG Crossover: ‘I Was Really Nervous’
Any question as to whether or not Beyond the Gates took place in the same world as CBS’s other soaps was answered in the August 11 episode of the network’s newest daytime drama when Young and Restless star Bryton James brought his character of Devon Hamilton to Fairmont Crest for a special appearance. And as excited as the actor was to cross over to the new soap and interact with stars Tamara Tunie (Anita) and Clifton Davis (Vernon), he was even happier to learn that the connective tissue linking the characters was his adopted father, Neil Winters, the character played by the late Kristoff St. John. “When I got the script, the best part of it was seeing that they continued to include him,” James told Entertainment Weekly. “As they should.”
A Very Special Visit
With Anita having just performed at a reunion concert for her old girl group, it made sense that music mogul Devon would approach her to see if the singer would be interested in a record deal, and James was proud to be the actor asked to cross over to BTG. “It was a huge honor to be the one that they asked to make that jump,” he told EW. “And it’s been really a cool experience to see the show grow into what it is.”
Of course, despite playing the same character he’s been portraying on Y&R since 2004, James was still in a new studio on a new set working with new actors, which naturally caused some first-day jitters. “I was really nervous about not messing up,” he shared. “It’s kind of [about] representing Y&R in the best way, and being my best for [Tunie and Davis], you know, being the focal points of the show. But they made me feel good.”
What’s Next?
In addition to sharing scenes with Tunie and Davis, James also had a brief interaction with Dani, played by Karla Mosley. Not only was the actor familiar with her from seeing her around the studio when she played Bold and Beautiful’s Maya Avant, but Mosley also filled in as Amanda Sinclair on Y&R in 2021 when Mishael Morgan was unavailable. Sparks seemed to fly between Dani and Devon, leading fans to wonder if there could there be more meetings between them.
“Absolutely,” James declared. “From how well the crossover went behind the scenes to the ideas that they’ve had for the future, I think they want to keep stuff open for there to be any potential interactions with our show and theirs.”
Of course, the actor urges fans to speak out if that’s something they’d like to see. “If the fans enjoy the crossover and want to see more of this storyline and the little hints that we dropped for the previous interaction, future interaction, let the writers know and let the network know, because they surely listen.”
Share your thoughts about the crossover and who else you’d like to see travel from Genoa City to Fairmont Crest — or vice versa! — in the comments below.
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