James Stenbeck is a fictional character on CBS's daytime drama As the World Turns, portrayed by Anthony Herrera.

Introduced in 1980 as a widower and controlling ex-lover of heroine Barbara Ryan (who was pregnant with his child), he quickly staked his claim on his family.

His role as the first Stenbeck husband and father of his generation secured his place as the rightful heir to the family fortune.

He began pursuing other women outside of the marriage, including his mistresses Margo Montgomery and Dee Stewart.

In addition to his adultery, James dabbled in drugs and stolen goods smuggling, using Barbara's business, Fashions Ltd., which he had purchased for her, as a front for his illegal activity.

Barbara had an infatuation with newcomer Gunnar St. Clair, a Stenbeck cousin she had met at a family event.

His ploys included trying to kill John Dixon by poisoning a jug of water so he would not expose he was not a biological "Stenbeck", and hiring a woman named Mme.

James was not about to let Paul slip away, and invited Barbara to a private bullfighting demonstration in which he planned to have her killed by having a bull trample her while she was in the ring.

Paul, struggling to free himself of James's manipulations, got into a squabble with him inside a windmill while trying to rescue Meg and Dusty.

In November 2009, a mysterious figure by the name of Mick Dante appeared to assist Paul Ryan's wife Emily Stewart with getting pregnant.

On July 28, 2010, Barbara was visited by a hallucination of James while being held captive in a party supply warehouse.

After the wedding, Paul invited everyone back to Fairwinds to burn photos of James, symbolically exorcising him from their lives.