Originally appeared on E! Online
Shemar Moore will always be young and restless at his core.
Ever since the The Young and the Restless actor began his career on the soap opera in 1994, Genoa City has had his heart—which is why he was happy to make a brief return for three episodes of the show between April 7 and 9.
“To be here at The Young and the Restless, it truly is coming home,” Shemar said in an April 7 appearance on the show’s YouTube series Y&R Insider. “They have asked me throughout the years to come visit and play a little bit, and you never say no.”
After all, the 55-year-old added, “This is where it all started for me.”
Indeed, the S.W.A.T. star—dad to 3-year-old daughter Frankie with ex Jesiree Dizon—credits late show creator Bill Bell for taking a chance on a “scared” young actor and launching his decades-long career.
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“Without that moment and without my years here, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you,” he continued. “I wouldn’t be blessed with the 33 years that this game has given me.”
Shemar—who won a Daytime Emmy in 2000 for portraying Malcolm Winters—previously detailed how The Young and the Restless served as his acting foundation, too.
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“I call my career high school, college, and graduate school: Eight years on Young and Restless…was high school,” he told TV Insider in an interview published April 2. “Then 11 years on Criminal Minds was college, then eight years on S.W.A.T. was graduate school.”
But while Shemar has built a stacked TV resume since The Young and the Restless, he admitted to not always being confident in his abilities.
“In the beginning, I was scared to death and nervous and insecure,” he continued, “and really thought they’re gonna realize I suck and tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘Oops, we made a mistake, go on home.’”
However, Shemar’s late costar Kristoff St. John, who played his onscreen brother on the soap opera, extended their fictional connection to the real world.
“Kristoff wrapped me up, and he said, ‘I got you. I’m gonna help you find your way,’” he explained. “He was a big brother to me on the screen. He was a big brother to me and a mentor in real life.”
And now Shemar is grateful to return to where he and Kristoff built their friendship. As he put it, “I feel humbled and honored and nostalgic.”
Of course, Shemar isn’t the only actor who got his start on a soap opera. Read on for more celebs with daytime TV roots.
Brad Pitt
Ah yes, one of the world’s biggest movie stars landed his first speaking role on Another World. It was for only two episodes that he played a young basketball player. Everyone has to start somewhere and then end up an Academy Award winner.
Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks appeared only in one scene of All My Children as none other than a waitress that Josh Duhamel‘s character is flirting with. The episode aired in 1999, two years before Banks starred in cult star-studded classic Wet Hot American Summer.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio is Hollywood gold, but few know he was on sitcoms like Roseanne and Growing Pains before his Titanic fame. He even made an appearance in soap opera Santa Barbara in a brief flashback sequence in 1990.
Demi Moore
Before becoming a screen icon, Demi Moore did her her time (1982-83, to be exact) on General Hospital. She played Jackie Templeton, an investigative reporter from New York City trying to track down her missing sister.
Julianne Moore
The Academy Award winner also landed a Daytime Emmy Award in 1988 for her portrayal of long-lost half-sisters Frannie and Sabrina Hughes on As The World Turns.
Kelly Ripa
Mark Consuelos
Prior to being a famed baddie mob boss on Riverdale, Mark Consuelos got his first big break on All My Children in 1995.
John Stamos
Prior to being Uncle Jesse on Full House, heartthrob John Stamos played teen rocker Blackie Parrish on General Hospital.
Josh Duhamel
The Jupiter’s Legacy star started out in soaps with the role of Leo du Pres on All My Children; his character eventually perished in a freak waterfall accident.
Eva Longoria
There’s nothing like playing a crazy wife who was put away in a mental hospital after trying to kill her lover’s first wife to kick off a career. At least, that’s how Eva Longoria made it happen on The Young and the Restless from 2001 to 2003.
Lindsay Lohan
Before capturing hearts with Parent Trap, a young Lindsay Lohan played the adorable Alli Fowler on Another World from 1996 to 1997.
Ryan Phillipe
A then-18 year old Ryan Phillipe‘s role on One Life to Live as Billy Douglas made history as the first only gay teenager on daytime TV.
Hayden Panettiere
From 1996 to 2001, the Nashville star played the first incarnation of Guiding Light’s Lizzie Spaulding.
Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon was the leading actress on A World Apart from 1970 to 1971, with a whopping 325 episodes total—and Sarandon appeared in every single one as main character Patrice Kahlman.
Justin Hartley
Justin Hartley is heartbreaker actor Kevin Pearson in This Is Us and it seems art does imitate life: Hartley first got his start on Passions before wooing audiences in The Young and the Restless.
Chrishell Strause
The former Mrs. Justin Hartley is now a real estate agent on Selling Sunset, but before earning her realtor license, Chrishell Strause sold every line on The Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless.
Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts may be best known for thriller Mulholland Drive yet the talented star first started on Home and Away.
Michael B. Jordan
Michael B. Jordan proved his talent on critically-acclaimed drama The Wire before landing a coveted role on All My Children as teen Reggie Montgomery. Chadwick Boseman originally was cast as Reggie but famously left following claims of perpetuating a stereotype. Jordan parted ways with AMC in 2006 and went on to star in Parenthood before captivating audiences with turns in Black Panther and Creed.
Nathan Fillion
You fell in love with him as Castle’s sexy crime-solving mystery writer Richard Castle, but the fan-fave Canadian first made his name as favorite son Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live from 1994 to 1997.
Christian Slater
The Dr. Death star was a high schooler with a secret in Ryan’s Hope for 20 episodes in 1985.
Marcia Cross
Before she was a Desperate Housewife, before she was Linda on Everwood, heck, before she was eccentric Kimberly Shaw on Melrose Place, the redhead played a feisty archeologist named Katheryn “Kate” Sanders who came between Cord and Tina on One Life to Live from 1986 to 1987.
Laurence Fishburne
Morpheus began as a teenager with a three-year stint on One Life to Live, playing the role of Joshua Hall.
Heather Locklear
The Melrose Place star first captivated audiences as Sammy Jo Dean in Dynasty from 1981 to 1989.
Tommy Lee Jones
Before he was married to a Coal Miner’s Daughter or schooling aliens with Will Smith in Men in Black, the Harvard-educated actor played sneaky Dr. Mark Toland on One Life to Live from 1971 to 1975.
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