James Reynolds chats Emmy nom, dream DAYS story

He stood out with a stand-alone episode, and now 2018 Lead Actor winner James Reynolds (Abe Carver, Days of our Lives) is celebrating his fifth Daytime Emmy nomination: "I'm very thankful."

There's a lot of celebratory energy surrounding Days of our Lives' James Reynolds, who's nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actor category at this year's Daytime Emmy Awards. He took home the win in the same category back in 2018, but since that time, it's been quiet for him on the Emmy front -- until now!

"I was surprised, I was really surprised," Reynolds shared with Michael Fairman about his nomination this year, which came from scenes he performed in Abe's stand-alone episode. "I hadn't submitted in a couple of years because I didn't feel I had anything to submit. So, I kind of looked at [the stand-alone scenes] with some encouragement from a variety of folks and it worked!"

Earning the nomination wasn't easy, but the actor jokes that winning the Emmy in the Lead category is dang near impossible.

"It's a heavyweight battle out there. You've got to keep your gloves on!" he shares, adding that he is proud to be in the same category with greats like The Young and the Restless' Peter Bergman (Jack Abbott) and DAYS' Eric Martsolf (Brady Black). "I know Peter Bergman fairly well... [and] Eric is so good. When I saw both Stacy [Haiduk, Kristen DiMera] and Eric in their scene, what I like about them is everything is so natural. Sometimes in the dialogue, the dialogue may or may not be that, but they make it real and that scene happened to be quite visceral in some places, and they drew me in; they really, really drew me in. So, I'm loving sharing this moment with Eric, and I'm really excited for him, as well."

The only thing that could make the Lead Actor category better, according to Reynolds, is if the contestants would have a Leading Men Lunch like the leading ladies do. "The leading actresses and supporting actresses tend to get together, but the guys don't!" he says with a laugh.

Because this is the fifth time that Reynolds has been nominated for an Emmy, he shares that he's become an expert at handling his emotions and reaction when the winner's name is called during the ceremony.

"You have to make sure you have that smile plastered on your face when they don't call your name and look pleased for everyone else," he jokes. "But it's a rollercoaster. We're in the big moment, the nomination moment, because everybody is in the pool, and now everybody is out except for us... but the truth is, everybody wants to win, and that's when your heart is beating."

He continues, "You have to realize it's a very human moment, and you have to allow yourself to feel that moment. I think if you don't get it -- and I've had that experience several times -- you just have to realize how fortunate you are to be in that position."

No matter what happens during the Emmys ceremony on Friday evening, Reynolds says that the most important thing is that DAYS keeps writing for Abe after all this time.

"I'm very thankful for that. When you pick up a script and you look at it and you see that your character has focus, that's one of the greatest gifts, or the greatest gift, you can have as an actor," he shares, adding, "I feel like the last few years have been some of the best I've had, as far as material and moving through and trying to find solutions to who Abe is involved with this week and... keeping up with my expanding and contracting family."

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There's just one storyline that he hasn't had yet that he hopes to get sometime in the near future: he wants Nicole (Arianne Zucker) to be revealed as Abe's daughter! "Ari and I, we think we're family," he says with a laugh. "We're pretty sure we are, and we are waiting for that exploration."

What do you think about James Reynolds being nominated for an Emmy this year? What did you think of his work as Abe in DAYS' stand-alone episode? Do you think Reynolds will take home the gold during the Emmy ceremony this Friday? We want to hear from you -- and there are many ways you can share your thoughts.

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