James Reynolds kept his Parkinson's diagnosisprivate for years. Now, the disease will also become part of the storyline for his "Days of Our Lives"character, Abe Carver.
Reynolds, 80, shared that he used to apologize when his hands shook on set during an interview with "Entertainment Tonight" cohost Nischelle Turner on Nov. 10. He thought he'd been hiding his symptoms, but the soap's writers had noticed and wanted to make them part of Abe's story.
"It was obvious. And we play life here," Reynolds said. "And there are many other characters who have gone through real-life issues that then are mirrored on the show. And this is an issue that it is going to be mirrored on the show and there's nothing any of us can really do about it."
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In the Nov. 11 episode on Peacock, Abe goes to the hospital for his test results, where Dr. Kayla Johnson, played by Mary Beth Evans, tells him he has Parkinson's.
Reynolds marked 45 years as Abe on Oct. 29. He won the 2018 Daytime Emmy Award for lead actor in a drama series for his performance on the show.
What symptoms did James Reynolds notice?
Reynolds opened up about experiencing a tremor "that didn't wanna go away," along with issues with his balance. He also noticed he was frequently out of breath but attributed the symptom to his asthma.
Reynolds said he eventually saw a doctor because of the persistent tremor.
"But what began to get to me was the difficulty to motivate myself at times," he told Turner. "That that's one of the hardest things. I think you'll find a lot of people with Parkinson's will talk to you about that."
"I find something different every day, and I realized just a couple weeks ago that I may have had this as long as 15 to 20 years ago," he said before recalling "hallucinations" he experienced which are typical early symptoms.
"My wife would say 'you were hitting me last night in bed,'" Reynolds said. "I was having these really horrible dreams, and I didn't know there was a physical component, sometimes I'd fall out of bed … really bad. I realized just a few weeks ago, that was an early symptom of Parkinson's."
Acting out dreams can be a symptom of Parkinson's, according to the Mayo Clinic. The disease affects the nervous system and can make it harder over time to walk and carry out other daily movement such as getting out of a chair. Medication can ease symptoms, though there is no cure.
Michael J. Fox also brought his experience with Parkinson's to television this year, playing Gerry on "Shrinking." Fox, who was diagnosed at 29, told USA TODAY in July that his diagnosis made all other parts of life seem minuscule.
"You think about a 19-year-old, 17-year-old kid, you want to be rich and famous and change the world, and you want to be the big 'it' thing," the 65-year-old told USA TODAY. "And when you start to search for a cure for a disease, that stuff is just so silly."
At the Sept. 14 Emmys, Fox accepted the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his work funding Parkinson's research and advocating for people living with the disease.
Reynolds said the "Days" cast and crew supported him when he shared his diagnosis. Turner pointed out that he could still hold his own in a scene with Jackée Harry, who plays Paulina Price.
"Damn right I can," he said.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Days of Our Lives' star James Reynolds' Parkinson's diagnosis becomes TV plot
