Days of Our Lives‘ Paul Telfer (Xander) has netted the top honor, the Outstanding Lead Actor Daytime Emmy.
Telfer has received two Daytime Emmy nominations. In 2020, he was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Telfer went up against his DAYS co-stars Wally Kurth (Justin) and Chandler Massey (ex-Will) the first time he got nominated for a Daytime Emmy, but all three lost out to The Young and the Restless‘ Bryton James (Devon).
See the full list of winners from the 52nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
In 2025, Telfer received his first nomination and first win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama series. Telfer becomes the third actor from DAYS to win the Outstanding Lead Actor category. The first was the late Macdonald Carey, who played the legendary Dr. Tom Horton, in 1974 and 1975. In 2018, James Reynolds (Abe) became the second DAYS actor to win, breaking a 43-year drought the show had in this category.
Telfer moved to America in the early 2000s to pursue acting and appeared on such shows as NCIS and the Hercules miniseries.
The Scottish actor first got his start in daytime dramas as a stand-in for former DAYS actor James Scott. He then went on to star on DAYS in January 2015, as Damon, Victor Kiriakis’ (John Aniston) henchman for six episodes. A few months later, the newly-minted Daytime Emmy winner returned to the show in March 2015 as Alexandros “Xander” Cook, Victor’s nephew, and ultimately was revealed to be his son.
Telfer is married to veteran stage actress Carmen Cusack, best known for starring in the Broadway musicals Bright Star and Flying Over Sunset.
This story was originally reported by Daytime Confidential on Oct 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the Awards & Award Shows section. Add Daytime Confidential as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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