‘Days of Our Lives’ Star James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis

Days of Our Lives star James Reynolds, who recently celebrated 45 years on the daytime soap opera, has revealed he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

The beloved 80-year-old actor shared the news in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, saying his diagnosis will be written into the show and experienced by his character, Abe Carver. Reynolds said the decision to portray the disease on-screen came after a long time of trying to hide his condition.

“Well, it kind of goes back to when I thought I was hiding it,” he told the outlet. “The writers also wanted to incorporate because it was obvious. It was obvious. And we play life here.”

He continued, “There are many other characters who have gone through real-life issues that then are mirrored on the show. And this is an issue that it is going to be mirrored on the show and there’s nothing any of us can really do about it.”

Reynolds said there is value in Abe portraying Parkinson’s, a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time. “I feel like the value of Abe as a character who overcomes a lot, has tremendous amount of strength, deals with a lot of things with humor as well as understanding,” he stated.

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Before revealing his diagnosis, Reynolds said he would apologize for his tremors and try to “hide” them. “You’re playing that game with yourself,” he admitted, noting he thinks he “may have had this as long as 15 to 20 years ago.”

Other than his family, including his wife, Lissa, and his son, Jed, Reynolds said he “hadn’t talked really to anybody else; I hadn’t spoken to friends about it.”

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He is now speaking publicly about his condition because “there are certain things that eventually you just can’t hide, the tremor being one, but that could be a hundred things, the imbalance being another. That could also be a lot of things.”

Reynolds, the longest-running Black actor in a single TV series in history, recently spoke with TV Insider about how grateful he is to be part of the Days of Our Lives family.

“There are days I’ve sat on the soundstage, and I thought, ‘I dreamed this once,'” he shared. “It’s just such a special thing. I was talking to Charlie Shaughnessy [Shane Donovan] a number of years ago, and we were both saying how fortunate we were to have the careers we’ve had and do what we do. He said, ‘You know, we’ve all been sprinkled with a little fairy dust,’ and I couldn’t agree more.”

He added, “Sometimes, just sitting on the empty stage and looking at the sets and the lights, I think, ‘Wow. I came from a town of 800 people, and here I am.’ It’s a great feeling.”