James Ford (One Life to Live)

Actor Nic Robuck reveals in an interview with ABC Daytime that his pairing with Starr (Kristen Alderson) is a big hit with fans, "We have fans that wait outside the studio every day with pictures, and they talk about the storyline. They always ask, 'Are you and Starr going to get together?' I always tell them, 'You'll just have to wait and see."[1] Robuck also describes his character James,

James is a survivor ... [he's] tough. That encompasses a lot of things. Survivors have to overcome hurdles and break down walls. He is a survivor ... but he does have emotion, and he cares a lot about the people in his life. He is a middle child. He's [the more] even-keeled [brother] among the three.

-ABC Daytime[2][3]

Originally, Robuck was just supposed to be brought as Starr's new love interest, but when the writers noticed the resemblance between himself and co-star David A. Gregory who plays Robert Ford, they made them brothers.[4] Robuck appeared on The Young and the Restless as a waiter at the Genoa City Athletic Club from 2008 to 2010. He has also appeared on CSI: Miami and the Nickelodeon sitcom, iCarly.

According to James, he and his brother were raised in Dayton, Ohio, he was born sometime in 1990. Their father is a criminal who runs a chop shop and forces James into his crew when he is only 15. Their father is abusive, but Robert gets a scholarship for film school and moves to California, leaving James in his father's hands. To escape, James steals $50,000 from his father and hides it. Their father sends one of his thugs, Bull, after James.

James is first seen as a stranger talking to Starr Manning about the problems in their lives. Later that day, James is revealed to be the little brother of Robert Ford who is nearly beaten to death. James's voice helps Ford regain consciousness. When police come in to question his brother, James leaves and bumps into Bull. James finds his way to the parking garage where he bumps into Starr whose having car trouble. After fixing her car, Bull finally catches up to him and James demands that Starr get in the car with him. As they speed away, Starr loses her purse.

James shows up again when he realizes that Bull is after Starr. The two escape to her aunt Viki's cabin, where James opens up about his abusive criminal father. James tells her that he stole $50,000 from his father so he would not have to work for his dad. Starr and James decide the only way to get the money is to steal a car worth as much as he owes Bull. After stealing the car, the two end up in a car wreck after Starr's attempt to keep James from hitting an animal sends them into a tree. Though both of them are OK, the car is worth nothing. James decides to surrender to Bull, promising to work off the money he owes. Though he tells her to stay away, Starr follows him to the abandoned barn where he is meeting Bull. Starr's father Todd Manning also arrives with $50,000 in exchange for his other daughter, Dani's boyfriend, Nate Salinger. The situation starts to unravel; as Bull and Todd fight, James picks up a shovel and attempts to knock Bull out as Starr grabs Bull's gun and accidentally shoots James. James makes it through surgery, and, shortly after, he tells Starr he has feelings for her. Starr tells James that they can never see one another again. James learns that Nate's mother, Inez is the mother who abandoned him and Bobby when they were kids. He begins dating Langston Wilde to make Starr jealous. Starr, James, and Langston all enroll in Llanview University around the same time and are surprised to learn the Ford is teaching a class that they are all taking. When Starr learns from Robert that her mother's fiancée, Elijah Clarke is actually a serial killer and her boyfriend Cole Thornhart knew about it, she is furious; James goes to comfort her.[5][6]

Brody Lovett shows up at LU and beat up Ford for sleeping with Jessica while she was not in her right mind. This upsets Langston, so she pretends to give Ford a second chance and secretly has photos taken of the two of them making out. She sends the pictures to the dean and gets Ford fired.[7]

James loses his chance on education once Ford gets fired from his teaching position. Thanks to Clint Buchanan, Ford gets his job back after Clint made a call to the Dean, and James is able to stay in school.

Starr, Dani, and Hope are kidnapped by Elijah Clarke; Starr gets away. When Hannah goes through with her plans to get rid of Starr and Hope for good, James catches on and decides to handle it. He finds Starr trapped in the attic of Hannah's home in Delaware. Hannah has them dress up in Halloween costumes and takes them to the cemetery where she forces them to dig their own graves at gunpoint. She knocks James out and makes Starr bury him alive. As Hannah is about to bury Starr, James rises from the grave and distracts Hannah long enough for Starr to bash her unconscious with a shovel. The two subsequently turn her in to the police. When Cole kills Elijah believing that Starr and Hope were trapped in the building he just blew, James tries to help Starr and Cole run. Cole turns himself in and is sentenced to 10 years in prison; Starr is heartbroken. James comforts her and tries to help her forget about her problems.

When Eddie shows up in town, Bobby and James are forced to let him live with them because James will go to jail for stealing the $50,000 from him. Eddie picks up right where he left off and continues terrorizing James. On November 24, James and Ford attend the Cramer family Thanksgiving celebration and Eddie crashes it. After Eddie punches James in front of everyone, he is arrested. Starr convinces James that he doesn't have to live in fear of his father anymore and they spend Thanksgiving with her family.

Later, James becomes furious at Eddie for his action and confronts him at his hotel room at gunpoint. Though he nearly does so, James realizes that he cannot put Starr through the same ordeal that she went through when Cole was arrested and diverts his aim. He warns his father to leave town before he changes his mind or before someone else attempts to do so. James also dates a girl named Michelle to get over Starr. They almost have sex but stop because his heart belongs to Starr. It is revealed that he and Nate are the paternal uncles of Ryder Ford (Robert's son with Jessica Buchanan). On February 28, 2011, James and Starr become a couple. On August 10, 2011, James and Starr have sex for the first time.

On January 3, 2012, James goes to Starr's house to warn her that Cole has broken out of prison and wonders if she has seen him. Starr assures him that she has not, and James leaves. Later he returns, suspicious that Starr is hiding something. Sure enough, James walks in on Starr and Cole as they profess their love for one another. On January 10, realizing that Starr will never stop loving Cole, James breaks up with her.

• James Ford – ABC Daytime
• James Character Profile.SoapCentral.com