‘Criminal Minds’ Paid a Subtle Tribute to Shemar Moore’s Time on ‘The Young and the Restless’
Shemar Moore is a fan-favorite actor who has appeared in everything from big-budget movies to long-running television shows. Moore is a versatile star who has been honored with a variety of awards. Many fans know Moore best for his work in the crime drama Criminal Minds — however, before he was cast as one of the stars of that series, Moore was one of the featured performers in a popular soap opera.
How did Shemar Moore get into acting?
Moore was born in California in 1970. Raised primarily by his mother, Moore was athletic in high school and earned a scholarship for college thanks to his skills as a baseball player.
Moore supplemented his income after college by working as a model, and by the early ’90s, he had broken into television. Some of the young actor’s early roles in television included parts in shows like Living Single, The Jamie Foxx Show, and The Nanny. It wasn’t long before Moore landed the part that would define the early part of his career.
Shemar Moore received early acclaim for ‘The Young and the Restless’
In 1994, Moore was cast in the soap opera The Young and the Restless. The long-running TV show had featured many up-and-coming young stars over the years, and the addition of Moore to the cast was a serious boost to his budding career.
Moore acted on the show for over ten years, from 1994 until 2005. While viewers were sad to see Shemar leave the long-running soap opera, the very same year that he left The Young and the Restless, he started appearing on another fan-favorite TV show.
Shemar Moore became a star on ‘Criminal Minds’
In 2005, Moore made his debut appearance on Criminal Minds, playing Derek Morgan. Moore quickly became one of the most popular performers on the intense crime drama. In 2016, Moore was nominated for a People’s Choice Award thanks to his work in the series, and while he didn’t win, the message was clear — the actor is much more than a pretty face.
In 2017, Moore departed the cast of Criminal Minds. Fans were devastated, but Moore made it clear that there were no hard feelings. “I’m not leaving to go be a big star. I’m not leaving to go make a bunch of money,” Moore said at the time. “I’m leaving because I just creatively want to be fueled and [am] excited to try new things and see what else I’m capable of. But I’m always going to look back and salute.”
How did ‘Criminal Minds’ call out Shemar Moore’s work on ‘The Young and the Restless’?
Although the characters that Moore played on The Young and the Restless and Criminal Minds could not be more different, there is one surprising link that both shows share. According to TV Insider, fans can enjoy a subtle nod to Moore’s past as a soap opera star in the season four episode of Criminal Minds titled “Memoriam,” when Derek Morgan, Moore’s character, can be seen watching an episode of The Young and the Restless.
These days, Moore is hard at work on a new TV series, S.W.A.T. — but fans will always love his work in Criminal Minds, as well as The Young and the Restless.
