2004 James was surprised to discover that his Y&R screen test was with Christel Khalil (Lily), who he had previously worked with on FAMILY MATTERS in 1996. “I also learned that Linda Stone, who was the studio teacher at FAMILY MATTERS from when I was 3 years old until the show ended, was working on Y&R. Having her and Christel there kind of felt like things were falling right into place.”
2004 Despite the fact that it was his first soap job, James felt immediately comfortable. “That had a lot to do with the way Kristoff St. John [ex-Neil] and Victoria Rowell [ex-Drucilla] embraced me from day one. They believed in me and championed me and were proud of me. It made me want to do better and keep making them feel that way.”
2005 Chene Lawson played Devon’s addict mother, Yolanda. “I remember doing the audition with Chene and she came in character. She was fantastic and blew everybody away. This story was really one of the first times I got to play some deep, emotional stuff on the show.”
2006 Devon contracted meningitis and nearly died. Although he survived, he lost his hearing. “They had an instructor come on the set to teach Kristoff, Victoria and Christel how to do sign language. While we were running lines, they’d be learning sign language simultaneously, which was insane how they did that so fast. I technically didn’t have to learn it, but I started taking a sign language class on my own because I just wanted to be involved in the story as much as I could.”
2007 Devon got his first girlfriend in sweet Roxanne (Tatyana Ali). “Who didn’t have a crush on Ashley Banks from FRESH PRINCE? I sure did. After Tatyana got cast, I would bug her all of the time to do my favorite lines from that show. She was a delight to work with. She is an amazing actress and I still miss her.”
2009 Devon lost his virginity to his “aunt” Tyra (Eva Marcille). “That was my first love scene. I was a little anxious and nervous about that one but I thought it went really well. Eva was so professional.”
2010 James made the decision to buff up his body to beef up his storyline. “I should’ve been smarter and done it a little earlier knowing what kind of show I was on. Once I did that it sure changed things. Sally, our director, stopped me one day when I was walking by and took notice. A week or two later, I had a sauna scene with Kristoff [laughs].”
2011 Devon’s mom had cleaned up and changed her name to Harmony (Debbi Morgan) when she came back into her son’s life. Later, Devon would find out that Tucker McCall (Stephen Nichols) was his dad. “I had two daytime legends playing my parents, which was amazing. I learned so much from them.”
2011 Since Tucker was Katherine Chancellor’s (Jeanne Cooper) long-lost son, that meant she was Devon’s grandmother. “There was a plaque on Jeanne’s door that read, ‘The door is always open,’ and it was for anybody who just needed to talk. She taught me how to treat everybody, from top to bottom, the way you’d want to be treated. She had such an appreciation for the show and its fans. Just to share the stage with her was a gift in itself.”
2012 Devon had a successful operation to place internal cochlear implants. “I wore that external implant for like five years on the show. Then I ran into Eileen Davidson [Ashley] in hair and makeup and she had this newspaper article about the new advancements in cochlear implants and how they could be internalized. We took that to the producers and the writers and they incorporated it into the show.”
2013 When Katherine passed away, Devon, Lily and Cane (Daniel Goddard) were stunned to learn that she left her grandson billions. “It was an incredible turning point for Devon. He didn’t know how to handle so much money and I don’t think he still does. He’s always pissing people off, making bad decisions and being too generous.”
2014 Devon and Abby (Melissa Ordway) went on a couple of dates but remained pals. “Even though fans responded to them, I think the writers have never realistically thought of putting Devon and Abby together. She’s a great friend for Devon, so they confide in and help each other in relationships.”
2014 Hurricane Hilary (Mishael Morgan) swept into Genoa City, and despite the mutual attraction between her and Devon, she married Neil. “I don’t even know if they saw me as potential to be with Mishael. I’m happy that the writers took notice because it was really the first time I played a romantic lead. I had an amazing journey with her.”
2015 Neil and Hilary split and she wed Devon. “Mishael was very pregnant at the time and we joked that she was practically carrying a bush to hide her baby bump.”
2017 After his marriage to Hilary crashed and burned, Devon romanced Mariah (Camryn Grimes). “He really cared for Mariah but Hilary was his true love and he never got over her. Plus, Mariah eventually ended up with Tessa but I’m glad that they were able to stay close friends.”
2018 Devon and Hilary reunited and were expecting a child when she was critically injured in a car accident caused by Lily. Before Hilary died, she and Devon tied the knot again. “In between takes, we’d hug each other because we knew this was our last time working together. We wanted to feel some of what Devon and Hilary were feeling and it worked.”
2019 St. John’s unexpected death in February was a devastating loss for James and the show. “It’s been tough not having him here. I don’t think anybody truly has come to terms with it. Every time we get to set I expect him to come bursting in with his energy and silly stories. At the same time, it’s kind of like when Victoria left the show [in 2007]; it encourages me and motivates me to do even better and make them proud.”
2019 Despite some bumps in the road, Devon and Elena (Brytni Sarpy) seem headed for a promising romance. “It’s been a joy working with Brytni. She’s an amazing actress and an amazing person. This is one of those relationships that sneaks up on you and the fans are responding really well to it. And that’s the best part, making the fans happy.”