With Age COMES WISDOM

The Dynasty and Colbys alum opens up about his amazing life and the lessons he's learned

- William Keck

Throughout the 1980s, John James earned a legion of fans, as well as a Golden Globe nomination, portraying the ultraconservative and upstanding Jeff Colby on Dynasty and its glitzy spinoff, The Colbys. For a young man who grew up inspired by the actors of Hollywood’s Golden Age, it was a dream job. “I was very fortunate to work with men like John Forsythe and Charlton Heston who possessed an inner strength that comes with experience,” James, 68, tells Closer. “They both were able to use that as actors, and I picked up on that.”

Today, with his children grown and starting families of their own, John’s excited to reenter the acting game playing more mature roles. “Fifteen years ago, I was too old to be cast as a younger man, but too young to play an older man,” he explains. “But there’s gravitas at my age. Now I have character.”

How did you get your big break?

Tom Hanks and I were in ABC’s talent search program. Young actors were put on hold for a year to see if [the network] could find them a series. Tom did Bosom Buddies, and I ended up doing Dynasty.

You were a fan of Hollywood’s Golden Age stars, so Dynasty was a good fit. Did you get to meet many of your idols?

When John Forsythe and I were invited to the Carousel Ball in Denver, we flew on a Gulfstream G500 with Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Fred MacMurray, Robert Wagner and Henry Fonda. Another time, I remember being in Nolan Miller’s home squeezed on a sofa between Barbara Stanwyck, Ginger Rogers and Esther Williams — all of whom had had far too much to drink! And every month I was at Joan Collins’ house, where I might see Sidney Poitier or Roger Moore.