JAMES HYDE ON Y&R EXIT

Jeremy Stark met his maker at the hands of his new bride, Phyllis, which means his portrayer, James Hyde, has finished his run on the show

“In the very beginning, I was guaranteed just one show,” the actor recalls of his October 2022 debut. “I was told they had no idea what would happen after that. Since it was a brand-new character, I said I would take the job. Any time I can play a new character, I’m all over it. At first, I came in just to shoot some flashback scenes with Susan [Walters], when Diane was living in L.A. After that, they brought me back for some more shows. I guess [Executive Producer/Head Writer] Josh Griffith saw something that he liked and continued to write for me. My goal was to do something to make this character memorable, scary but also very mysterious, so people didn’t know what he’s capable of and what he’ll do next.”

In fact, Hyde did such a good job making Jeremy menacing and smarmy that a relative became concerned. “My cousin called me and asked, ‘What did they do to your eyebrows?’ ” he chuckles. “I told her nothing, that it was just me having a reason to furrow my eyebrows because I finally had material where I could add a little physicality.”