Created by head writer James E. Reilly and introduced under executive producers, Ken Corday and Tom Langan, EJ is the son of crime boss Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo) and the eccentric Susan Banks (Eileen Davidson).

Scott's performance in the role garnered him two consecutive Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2010 and 2011.

Boof revealed to Nelson Branco of TV Guide that EJ initially comes to town to avenge his mother, Susan (Eileen Davidson), who by that time had been in a mental institution.

The character was always meant to be a race car driver, but following Boof's firing, his racer career was also forgotten, and he was written as a lawyer.

[3] EJ attends Eton College along with Duke of Cambridge, Prince William (revising his birth year to 1982) and even serviced his car at one point.

"[12] Deanna Barnert speculated that the recent reboot of the series, which included bringing back several popular veteran characters was in preparation of Scott's potential departure.

[14] In a May 2020 interview with Soap Opera Digest, Paul Telfer revealed he had previously been hired as a one-week stand-by, due to an undisclosed health issue by James.

Stefano, however, managed to snatch EJ from Susan, raising him at Maison Blanche in New Orleans and sending him to British boarding schools.

[23] The growing chemistry between him and Samantha stopped abruptly as EJ was soon revealed to be the mysterious figure attacking Sami's family and his connection to Stefano was also discovered.

In December 2006, EJ held Sami at gunpoint and forced her to help him through the police roadblocks set up by Salem PD to keep him from leaving the country after he shot John Black.

EJ brainwashed Steve Johnson and forced him to kidnap a comatose John Black and transplant one of his kidneys into a dying Stefano.

When Sami learned she was pregnant, Celeste Perrault revealed that EJ was the child's father but warned him that Stefano would disapprove.

His brother, Tony DiMera, convinced him to kidnap Sami and harvest the stem cells from the unborn child to save Stefano's life.

EJ knew that a brainwashed John Black was in the basement of the DiMera mansion and decided to reunite him with his family in January 2008.

When they finally got another chance, EJ put it off by pretending that his visa had expired, and Sami agreed to prolong the marriage until he could deal with immigration.

Despite being furious, EJ was still in love with Sami and hurt over the fact that she lied and kept from his daughter, didn't trust him, and tried to pass Rafe Hernandez off as the father.

It was revealed that EJ had kidnapped Sydney and faked her death as revenge on Sami for keeping the child a secret and breaking up her and Rafe.

Stefano also revealed to EJ and his sister, Lexie Carver, that they have another brother, Chad Woods, the biological father of baby Grace.

[23] EJ decided to run for mayor against his brother-in-law Abe Carver; feeling lonely, he asks Nicole to serve as his campaign manager and convinces her to hold off their divorce.

Daniel Jones switched the test results; however, even after, EJ still didn't believe that Rafe was the father of his and Nicole's baby.

EJ decides not to go after Nicole, Daniel, and Rafe; he is shocked by the return of his adopted step-sister, Kristen Blake DiMera.

[27] Meanwhile, it's revealed that EJ still holds a grudge against Stefano for disowning him as his son, and is seeking revenge by taking DiMera Enterprises from his father.

This causes EJ to go after Nick, who first confronts Percy, threatens him to give him the pictures to destroy, and sends him back to England.

She becomes furious but pushes forward with the wedding; after the ceremony, Rafe Hernandez shows up and arrests EJ for tax evasion.

Sami attends the board meeting with Kate Roberts (who got Stefano to sign over his proxies to her) and is voted in as DiMera Enterprise's new Co-CEOs.

Sami presents this information to a furious EJ and reveals to him that she was the one who gave the police the evidence for his tax evasion arrest.

However, EJ gave Rafe documents on Stefano that hindered his return to Salem to protect Sami and win her back.

Sami agrees to transfer funds he needs to sustain losses suffered by DiMera Enterprises in return for the information about EJ's whereabouts.

When Brady Black (Eric Martsolf) sneaks into the facility, he finds Xander Kiriakis working with Kristen on a secret project that is revealed to be EJ's recovery.

[29][30] In 2020, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed EJ 11th on his list of the 35 most memorable characters from Days of Our Lives, commenting that "When James Scott's spawn of Stefano blackmailed No.