James Scott (born 14 January 1979) is a British former actor from

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He is best known for playing

EJ DiMera EJ DiMera is a fictional character from '' Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. Created by head writer James E. Reilly and introduced under executive producers, Ken Corday and Tom Langan, EJ is the son of crime boss ...

on the NBC soap opera '' Days of Our Lives'' and Ethan Cambias on the ABC soap opera '' All My Children''.

Early life

Scott was born in

to an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

father and Scottish mother. The eldest of four children, he has two brothers and a sister. Initially schooled in Newcastle, Scott moved to an all-boys boarding school in Lancaster. After school, Scott moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on a voyage of self-discovery. As a result of his mother's Scottish origins, Scott spent a lot of time in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

as a boy. His first summer there he managed to get a job working at the famous "

Gilded Balloon Gilded Balloon is a producer and promoter of live entertainment events, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and best known as one of the Big Four venue operators at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each August. The company has its origins in a venue kno ...

Theatre", one of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's best-known venues, established by Karen Koren in 1986 in

Cowgate The Cowgate ( Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, which lies below the ele ...

and worked with such actors/comedians as

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...

, and

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

. "They set me in motion, giving me the drive I needed to move forward. Soon it became apparent that I would need to move to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in order to truly focus on this as a career," Scott remembers.

Career

Scott began his career working in the music industry, and later started acting in community theatre. After only a few weeks in London, Scott was spotted by the

Storm Model Management Storm Management is a British model agency based in Chelsea, London. Background Storm was founded in 1987 by Sarah Doukas in London. Doukas discovered Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne, Behati Prinsloo, and Anya Taylor-Joy. In 2009, Doukas sold a con ...

agency in

, home to Kate Moss,

Elle Macpherson Eleanor Nancy Macpherson (; née Gow; born ) is an Australian model, businesswoman, television host, and actress. She is known for her record five cover appearances for the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' beginning in the 1980s, leading ...

, and other prominent models. Modelling allowed him to earn enough money to put himself through college. He studied for two years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). As time went on, he began to model for clothing companies. During a modelling trip to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, he went to an acting class at the

Ivana Chubbuck Ivana Chubbuck is an American acting coach who heads a drama school in Los Angeles and also hosts acting workshops worldwide. She is the author of the best-selling book ''The Power of the Actor'', published by a division of Penguin Books Pen ...

studio in Hollywood. The class inspired him to save money and make the move to Los Angeles. He studied acting for two more years before being cast on '' All My Children.'' Scott originated the role of Ethan Cambias in August 2004 and played it until February 2006. He then moved on to '' Days of Our Lives'' where he took on the role of

in May 2006. On 2 May 2014 it was announced that Scott would be leaving ''Days of Our Lives'' to pursue other endeavours. On 27 September 2015, he reprised his role as EJ DiMera of ''Days of Our Lives'' on '' Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'', reuniting with

Alison Sweeney Alison Ann Sweeney (born September 19, 1976) is an American actress, reality show host, director and author. Sweeney is best known for her portrayal of Samantha "Sami" Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', a role she played under co ...

(as

Sami Brady Sami Brady is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network, portrayed by Alison Sweeney since 1993. The character is first seen as a newborn baby in the episode of October 16, 1984, in which mom Ma ...

) in honour of Nujeen Mustafa and the Syrian refugee crises. Scott retired from acting and started a life-coaching business called The Whisper Within. However, he last posted in December 2020.

Personal life

During an interview in April 2014, Scott described a spiritual experience he had in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

during a trip to the country, from which he had just returned prior to the interview – and during which he took

Ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' ( Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' desce ...

with the guidance of Native Peruvian shamans. During the interview, Scott described the experience as "the single most positive experience of my life" and further stated of the experience that "it sounds wacky when you say it, but it was truly the most important thing I have ever done. I came back a very different person."

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
James Scott's SoapCentral Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, James 1979 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art British expatriate male actors in the United States English male models English male soap opera actors English male stage actors English people of Scottish descent Male actors from Newcastle upon Tyne British psychedelic drug advocates