James Hyde Reveals the Y&R Role He Didn't Get

With Jeremy Stark being released from prison, it’s only a matter of time before James Hyde is on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS properly and not just in some flashback scenes. However, this role was not actually what the actor originally auditioned for!

“I’ve auditioned a few times,” Hyde revealed during an interview in The Locher Room. “And then a contract role came up for Tucker and I did a screen test for that. It went to Trevor St. John and he’s doing amazing. So I left the audition and they sent an E-mail saying, ‘James, you did a really, really good job. Thank you so much and maybe we’ll think about you in the future.’

“Sometimes you hear that and you think, ah, whatever,” he continued. “A week later, they contacted me about the role [of Jeremy Stark] and they made an offer and I said, ‘Absolutely.’”

While Hyde has been keeping busy in primetime series like MONARCA and LA REINA DEL SUR, this is the first time he’s been on a daytime soap since his 1999-2008 run as Sam Bennett on NBC sudser PASSIONS. “I said if I was ever going to go back to daytime television,” he explained, “I wanted to go back to the best. And I really believe that Y&R is the best for a lot of reasons.”

Y&R Jeremy Diane — Jeremy has a score to settle with Diane!Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

Of course, the villainous Jeremy Stark is a far cry from the heroic police chief he played for years on PASSIONS. “I’m really anxious to see how the soap fans react,” Hyde enthused. “I was always considered the moral compass at PASSIONS and this is a totally different guy. I’m ready for the soap fans to see if they like it.”

While Hyde remained tight-lipped about where his storyline would take him, he did admit he is always excited to read each new script to see what Jeremy is going to do next. “I don’t know where the writers are going to take me but I’m ready for this journey,” Hyde declared. “I’m recurring. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here but I’m enjoying every day. I’ve heard there’s some good stuff coming!”

So stay tuned to Y&R to see how Jeremy takes revenge against Diane for helping put him in prison!