Shemar Moore headed back to his soap opera roots and took time to honor the man who helped make his incredible career possible. As Moore and his former co-star Vivica A. Fox returned to the iconic CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless, the actor opened up about the impact the late Kristoff St. John had on his life.
In a clip recently shared on Instagram, Moore reflected on his earliest days in Hollywood and the mentorship that changed his trajectory.
Before he was solving crimes on Criminal Minds or leading the tactical unit on S.W.A.T., Moore was just trying to find his footing. In his Instagram post, he painted a vivid picture of his pre-fame life, admitting he was “scared to death” when he first arrived in Los Angeles.
“I didn’t know nothing from nothing,” Moore confessed. “I was a Mervyn’s model, wannabe baseball player, lived in New York, broke as a joke working at a coffee shop, and then lightning struck from a GQ ad that I did.”
That lightning strike led to an audition for The Young and the Restless. Out of 268 hopefuls, the producers chose Moore to play Malcolm Winters, the charismatic half-brother of the established and successful Neil Winters, played by Kristoff St. John.
On the show, Neil and Malcolm’s relationship was complex. They were brothers bonded by blood but frequently at odds, navigating a dynamic fraught with competition, jealousy, and deep-seated family drama. However, off-screen, their dynamic was entirely different. St. John immediately recognized Moore’s anxiety and lack of experience.
“Kristoff saw that. He said, ‘This kid’s scared,'” Moore recalled. Seeing a reflection of his own early career struggles in the young actor, St. John stepped up. “He felt like I was a younger version of him, you know, as far as… his beginnings. And so he took me under his wing and he said, ‘I got you.’ He said, ‘You know, I just got you.’ We’re going to work this out.”
St. John became a mentor and a real-life big brother, providing a safe space for Moore to hone his craft and build his confidence. St. John’s constant encouragement pushed Moore to dream bigger.
“He was like, ‘You can win at this game because you just got to believe, never quit, and go fly, brother, go fly,'” Moore shared.
St. John passed away tragically in February 2019 at the age of 52, leaving a massive void in the daytime television community and in the lives of his co-stars. His character, Neil Winters, also passed away on the show, and Moore has returned to Genoa City over the years to pay tribute to his TV brother.
“I’m not just trying to be a Hallmark card and say the right things,” Moore said. “Without Kristoff St. John and without being able to be here for those eight years. I wouldn’t have the career or the life that I have now.”
Moore echoed this deep appreciation in the caption accompanying the video, writing, “Never forget where you came from! It’s always a pleasure to come back and play with my @youngandrestlesscbs family…and honor my brother and mentor Kristoff St. John!!! Always missed, forever loved, and never forgotten 🕊️🫶🏽🙏🏽.”
