| Devon Hamilton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The Young and the Restless character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Bryton James | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2004–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | June 1, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | John F. Smith, Kay Alden and Trent Jones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | William J. Bell and John F. Smith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Devon Hamilton (also Winters) is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera, portrayed by Bryton James. The character made his first appearance on June 1, 2004. He was introduced as a homeless teenager who is taken in by the Winters family, the core African-American family within the series. Drucilla Winters (Victoria Rowell) sympathizes with Devon because she too was a product of the foster care system. Drucilla and her husband Neil (Kristoff St. John) raise Devon along with their daughter Lily (Christel Khalil) and legally adopt him in 2006.
Unlike most young male characters whose stories typically centered around romance and teen angst, the character of Devon became a vehicle for social and human interest stories, focusing on the challenges of having a drug addict for a parent, being a product of the foster care system, and deafness. While Devon has a consistent love interest, the romance was rarely displayed and severely undeveloped. In 2009, the character was involved in a controversial storyline in which he had an affair with Tyra Hamilton (Eva Marcille), a woman he'd come to know as his aunt, though it was later revealed that they are not related. The foster care, meningitis and deaf story arcs received critical acclaim for their social impact and earned James five Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series and James won the award in 2007. James also earned seven NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series and he won the award in 2009.
In 2011, the character would be written into more traditional soap opera plots starting with the revelation that he is the long lost grandson of the wealthy Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper). However, the plot twist would only bring him closer to his adoptive father, Neil. In 2013, Devon inherits the bulk of Katherine's billion dollar estate which turns his life upside. In 2014, Devon enters into an affair with Neil's young wife Hilary Curtis (Mishael Morgan). Devon's forbidden love affair with Hilary would mark the character's first major love story and would also solidify the character as a viable romantic lead. Due to the chemistry between the characters, the pairing of Devon and Hilary quickly amassed a very active fan base and as well as critical acclaim which propelled them to supercouple status. James earned two Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2016 and 2019; he won the award in 2020.