‘Days of Our Lives’ Star James Reynolds Opens Up About Parkinson’s Diagnosis After 45 Years on the Soap

Days of Our Lives star James Reynolds recently revealed a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis. The iconic actor, who has played Abe Carver for the past 45 years, shared the news with Entertainment Tonight on November 19, saying Days would incorporate it into his storyline.

ET played a teaser clip of Reynolds as Carver talking to Kayla (played by Mary Beth Evans). “Not surprised,” Carver says of his on-screen diagnosis. “I’ve done my own research, and it all leads in that direction.”

When asked what made him bring his real-life diagnosis to the soap opera, Reynolds answered candidly, “Well, it kind of goes back to when I thought I was hiding it. The writers also wanted to incorporate it because it was obvious. It was obvious. And we play life here. And there are many other characters who have gone through real-life issues that are then mirrored on the show. And this is an issue that is going to be mirrored on the show. And there’s nothing any of us can do about it.”

He continued, “But I feel like the value of Abe as a character who overcomes a lot, has a tremendous amount of strength, deals with a lot of things with humor, as well as understanding.”

Even though Reynolds admitted he’s had Parkinson’s for “more than a few years,” he’s kept the diagnosis quiet, only sharing it with his family and closest friends.

So why is he going public now? According to the actor, “I realized I’m shaking all over the place. You know, what am I doing? I thought I was hiding something.”

Reynolds added, “All these different ways of what I thought was hiding it. It wasn’t. Everyone, you could see my hand shaking. You could see different things. Sometimes I get a little unbalanced, and I’d have to make a quick adjustment. And so you know, you’re playing that game with yourself.”

The Days of Our Lives star also opened up about his first symptoms, which included tremors and difficulty balancing himself. While these were the most noticeable issues he faced at first, Reynolds now believes he may have had the disease for as long as 15 to 20 years.

He told Entertainment Tonight that he only discovered this after watching former M*A*S*H actor Alan Alda discuss his own first Parkinson’s symptoms, saying, “I was having these really horrible dreams. I realized just a few weeks ago that that was an early symptom…I watched Alan Alda’s interview. And he said that was his first experience. Years before.”

Even though this isn’t an easy diagnosis for anyone to deal with, Reynolds isn’t giving up, and he’s not leaving the daytime drama anytime soon. The actor shared, “You can still work. And that’s one of the points I want to make to people. Is that you can live your life, you can participate with your family…You can do many of the things that you used to be able to do,” adding, “You don’t have to be lost in this battle.”

Of course, his Days co-stars are just as amazing as fans would expect. Reynolds revealed that they’re “Super super. Extraordinarily helpful and supportive. It couldn’t be a better atmosphere. People are just so wonderful.”