Creation and casting The character of Devon was created by the writers as a vehicle to explore the foster care system. Actress
Victoria Rowell who portrayed Devon's adoptive mother Drucilla, had pitched the storyline to co-head writer
John F. Smith. Rowell, a product of the foster care system herself, pitched the storyline multiple times before it was approved. In an interview with
Daytime Confidential in 2008, Rowell revealed that she was adamant that the actor portraying the role of the foster child be a Black actor due to the population of kids in the system being predominantly African-American boys. Bryton James (previously credited as Bryton McClure) was cast in the role of Devon in April 2004. James was previously known for his portrayal of
Richie Crawford on the
ABC sitcom
Family Matters. As he finished high school in 2004, James took up acting again and one of his first auditions was for
The Young and the Restless. James reminisced about the audition process in a 2014 interview with
Soap Opera Digest. "I remember very vividly walking through the big door on the third floor for the read. The scenes for my audition were heavy drama so I had a sense of what I would be in for." While the scenes had nothing to do with the character of Devon, James made quite the impression on casting director Marnie Saitta. "She stopped me halfway through my reading and said, ‘Finally! Someone reading the character the way it’s supposed to be read!’" A few days later, James was invited to do a screen test opposite
Christel Khalil with four new scenes. James and Khalil had previously worked together when she guest starred on
Family Matters. James made his debut on the June 1, 2004 episode. He appeared during the August 11 episode.
Characterization Personality In 2014, James said Devon is "so complex." Upon his introduction, Devon is a "homeless foster kid with trust issues." In a 2004 with
Soap Opera Weekly, James described the character of Devon as a "very guarded kid." According to James, Devon likes to stand on his own. He is not the kind of person that likes to be "babied" the actor said to
Soap Opera Digest in 2006. He has a tendency to lash out if feels like he is being coddled. In 2011, head writer
Scott Hamner described Devon as being "very independent and confident in his ability to take care of himself and shape his own destiny." In 2013, James described Devon as being "very down to earth." According to James, Devon had to become accustomed to dealing with huge life changes. In 2018, James described Devon as "always" having a "quick-temper" but said that over time, he has evolved the character be more "easygoing" like himself. In 2019, James said of the character's development throughout the years, "I think the writers have done a really great job at making the character accurate to how he would be, how he would feel, how he would treat others." Devon grows up believing his father abandoned them though he apparently lives in Genoa City. Devon even runs into the man he believes is his father outside of a pool hall once but doesn't interact with him. Yolanda, who struggled with an addiction to crack, disappears often leaving Devon in her mother's care. His grandmother proves to be the most stable force in his life. Every year, Devon would spend his birthday with her at the zoo and every Christmas, they'd make 7 layer bars together. After his grandmother's death, Devon is placed in foster care as Yolanda is unable to care for him. Each time, Devon went in hoping his new foster parents would keep him longer than a few weeks, but his hopes were always crushed. One set of foster parents in particular, the Taylors, Devon believed wanted to keep him. However, he ended up back in the system when their marriage fell apart. While in foster care, Devon is forced to attend therapy and at one point, even takes antidepressants.
Foster care and hearing impairment Soap Opera Digest said Devon's introduction as a homeless foster child taken in by Neil and Drucilla landed the character on the "front burner in a social-issue saga." The actress had been heavily involved in working with foster children over the years after she found success which inspired her to incorporate it into the series. Rowell taught James all she could about the foster care system and James would use the lessons to inform his portrayal of Devon whose life was drastically different from his own. After learning from doctors that surgery is his only option, Devon gets the
Cochlear Implant surgery on November 26, 2006. At the time of Devon's meningitis scare, Neil and Dru are on the verge of divorce and it is his illness that brings the Winters family back together. The storyline was revisited in early 2012 when the character's hearing is fully restored due to another surgery. James revealed that Devon's most recent surgery to restore his hearing was actually inspired by real life advances in cochlear implants. His co-star,
Eileen Davidson, whom at the time played his stepmother,
Ashley Abbott, brought the information to James's attention, who presented the information to
Maria Arena Bell. The advances were eventually incorporated into the show. Of the decision to incorporate the real life medical advancements into the story James said, "For it come to fruition and for me to play someone going through is very humbling." The story culminates on April 11, 2012, with Devon getting his new implants activated restoring his hearing completely. Of the story, James said that Devon's hearing loss was "something you can't really understand unless you experience it, so you just try to the best you can." The actor praised the writers for giving him the opportunity to play the story. James appreciated that his early storylines could not be categorized as the "traditional" soap opera plots, but instead the stories were very socially relevant. While the character has brief dalliances here and there, he has a stable girlfriend in
Roxanne (
Tatyana Ali) starting in 2007. However, the pairing receives very little development. The character's most controversial story to date involved Devon's affair with his "aunt"
Tyra (
Eva Marcille). In May 2009 the writers introduced Devon's great-aunt, Virginia (
Della Reese) who reveals several family secrets, including that Tyra is not biologically or legally related to the Hamiltons. In June 2009,
Daytime Confidential published a spoiler article which revealed that Devon would begin to develop romantic feelings for Tyra and Devon even fantasizes about kissing her. At the time, Devon is upset with Tyra for breaking up Neil's marriage to
Karen Taylor (
Nia Peeples). During an argument on August 12, 2009, an angry Devon brings Tyra to tears and when he comforts her, they end up sleeping together; the two are caught by Roxanne. Bryton defended Devon by reminding fans that Devon was only 19 years old when he slept with Tyra and until the affair Hilary, Tyra is the only big mistake Devon had made in his romantic life. Devon has grown up a bit since his tryst with Tyra. Also, the lack of a family connection between Devon and Tyra made it seem a little less dramatic for James. They "didn't grow up together. It's not like someone you see at every family reunion or anything like that."
Paternal lineage (2009–2013) While his mother's history was well documented, the topic of Devon's paternity was rather unclear. The seeds for the story were first planted in 2009. James expressed to executive producer and head writer
Maria Arena Bell his hopes for Devon's paternity to be explored at some point. "I always liked the idea of Devon finding his father and hoped it would be someone already in Genoa City." In May 2009, Devon's great-aunt Virginia (
Della Reese) presents him with a letter that reveals that Devon's father never knew about his existence. It changes everything for Devon who grew up believing his father was a junkie like his mother or just some guy who chose not to be in his life. According to James, the revelation "leaves it wide open to the possibilities of what kind of man this could have been." To further complicate matters, it is not clear what state Yolanda was in at the time of his conception. This turn of events also made James hopeful that the writers would soon explore his character's paternity. In July 2011, it was announced that
All My Children superstar
Debbi Morgan had been cast in an undisclosed role.
Yahoo! TV suggested several scenarios for her potential character including a recast of Devon's mother Yolanda, or the mother of
Tucker McCall's (
Stephen Nichols) long lost son. Upon Morgan's debut, it was revealed that the two potential roles were one and the same – Devon was Tucker's son. After he married in March 2011, James planned to take time off for his honeymoon when the producers informed of plans to feature Devon in a major storyline. "It was a bad and very good thing" James remarked. The actor admitted that he was not really in favor of introducing a new character as Devon's father. While Tucker was still a relatively new character, the plot twist made Devon the grandson of
Katherine Chancellor (
Jeanne Cooper), the show's matriarch. Of the storyline, James said "… it was more than I could ever have dreamed for myself. I never in a million years thought [Devon] would end up tied to the very core of the show. You can't get more entrenched than that!" According to Maria Arena Bell, she'd been looking to revisit the story since James first mentioned it in 2009. As a unit, the Winters family were given several stories over the years, but not many of which allowed the family to intermingle with the non-African American characters often. Devon's connection to Katherine further removes the family from the proverbial "Black Box" in which the characters only interact with other African American characters. The storyline makes Devon the first biracial character to be introduced in the series and also reflected Bryton's own heritage. Upon
Jeanne Cooper's passing in May 2013 and the subsequent announcement that Katherine's death would soon be acknowledged onscreen, many wondered who would benefit from Katherine's vast empire. Deanna Barnert concluded that Devon would be the biggest winner considering he would be Katherine's only blood relative still on the canvas at the time of Katherine's death. Because Devon's connection to Katherine was still fairly new compared to her other more well established relatives, many wondered exactly how much Devon would benefit compared to Katherine's other and more well established relatives. Devon has no problems using his new wealth to shower his loved ones with expensive gifts, but he is caught off guard when his longtime girlfriend Roxanne (
Tatyana Ali) suddenly puts a down payment on a new place for them. The money brings a new dynamic to the relationship and Devon starts questioning Roxy's motives. According to James, Devon feels very guilty for accusing Roxy and though he doesn't really believe she is with him for the money, he would have rather they made a decision like that together. While James insisted that Devon's new wealth would not change him, Devon struggles to keep up with the sudden changes, from billionaire
Victor Newman (
Eric Braeden) suddenly taking an interest in him to Roxy's decision to move in together, and
Mason Wilder's (
Lamon Archey) schemes to suck up to Devon. It would be even harder for Devon to find his "passion" because the money brings him so many more opportunities leaving him a bit overwhelmed. Over the years, Devon has proven to be quite generous with his fortune. According to James, "it's understandable because he never came from it." Devon's idea of "money and giving back and sharing wealth and helping to uplift others, it comes from what he never had and what he always wished people did for him."
Jean Passanante said "Esmeralda is unabashedly attracted to Devon's money, perhaps as much as she is to Devon himself." Devon thinks he has missed his chance with Hilary after seeing her with Jack. Writer
Shelly Altman insisted that the duo shared a mutual attraction but they would need to overcome yet another and "very surprising obstacle!" James viewed the situation differently then he did Devon's affair with Tyra because at the time, he was very young, still only a teenager when it occurred. In the triangle with Neil and Hilary, Devon is an adult and he can come at Neil as an equal. Despite unflattering circumstances, the pairing was a hit with most fans and critics which James accredited to the writers for "taking the time, and letting the fans get invested in really caring about Devon and Hilary's feelings for each other." According to James, Devon believes he has found "true love" with Hilary. Devon and Hilary face a long uphill battle once their affair is exposed. Devon and Hilary's marriage is plagued by many ups and downs and the couple ultimately divorces in 2017. During his separation from Hilary, Devon quickly rushes into a romance with his friend
Mariah Copeland (
Camryn Grimes), and Hilary's co-worker. "I think Devon's friendship with Mariah happened at the right time, and they do have feelings for each other," James said. However, the relationship is plagued by Mariah's growing attraction to a woman, which Devon isn't aware of, and Devon's unwillingness to profess his love for Mariah when pressures him to do so. According to James, Devon and Mariah are "testing each other's feelings, trying to figure out what's going on." The relationship happens so fast after Devon's split from Hilary, "that it's hard not to think a rebound-esque thing is going on" James insisted. The actors weren't aware of the plans until they received the scripts. James revealed "One day everything's fine. The next day she's in the hospital with days to live." While he enjoyed playing it, James thought it was one of the more unbelievable plots Devon was involved in. According to Julie McElwain, Devon struggles with "anger issues" over Lily involvement in Hilary's death. Devon throws himself into work, and his coldness toward Lily forces Neil to interfere. But the last thing Devon wants is advice about how he should be handling his grief. "I think Devon is at his tipping point!" James declared. James vowed that whatever happened "would changed the dynamic of the [Winters] family for the rest of their lives!" What Lily did can't be undone, "So there are certain [familial] feelings that also won't be coming back!" Ultimately, Devon decides against burying Lily in court and she is sentenced to prison for a year. However, James said "It doesn't look like Devon is going to get over Hilary's death anytime soon." Devon "needs to grieve" the actor continued. With the sudden passing Kristoff St. John in February 2019, the writers decide to kill off the Neil character. By the spring of 2019, Devon seems to be moving forward, both professionally and personally as he had started dating Elena Dawson (
Brytni Sarpy). He even shares a happy reunion with Lily when she attends the grand opening of his new restaurant. "Seeing Lily makes the night even better for him. Despite what they went through to have her end up in prison, forgiveness has been made and the relationship is mended." Unfortunately, Devon's hopes for a new beginning are crushed when he finds Neil has passed away. Devon returns to the restaurant "visibly shaken" where he is forced to break the news to his family at the worst possible moment. Devon experiences "great difficulty coping with Neil's death so soon after losing Hilary and their unborn child." For Bryton James, it was harder for him to film Neil's funeral than it was to attend Kristoff St. John's real life funeral, the week before. Seeing the set decorated with flowers and Kristoff's portrait made it "more real for me." James reasoned that it was "because it's at the studio where I met him, worked with him, lived with him and had so many special moments with him." Having so many cast members return to honor Kristoff and Neil added to those feelings for James. Despite the large number of people working that day, the filming "went smoothly." James continued, "Kristoff would've been proud and I was grateful to be part of it." When Devon sees Neil at home, the writers gave James the opportunity to personalize some of his dialogue. James revealed that his own father's passing in 2016 helped him with the story as well.
CBS Soaps in Depth confirmed that Morgan would appear in several more episodes. According to the magazine, Hilary would help Devon move past his grief. However, Hilary's looming presence is proof of how hard it is for Devon to move on without Hilary. "Having this new romance and love just kind of came out of nowhere. You want to move on. And Devon is still very young. So it's natural to have these new feelings. But it's also normal to have a difficult time with letting go of someone that you were that attached to." James appreciated that the writers paced it out instead of having "Devon get over [his grief] too quickly." Morgan hinted that it wouldn't be the last time Devon would be visited by Hilary. ==Reception==