Sharon Case Talks Sharon's Transitional Year and Upcoming 50th Anniversary of The Young and The Restless (EXCLUSIVE)
For nearly 30 years, Sharon Case has brought her alter ego Sharon Collins Newman to life on The Young and the Restless. As the iconic soap opera gears up to celebrate 50 years on the air, Daytime Confidential had the opportunity to catch up with the Daytime Emmy-winning actress. Case gives some great insight into Genoa City's past, and Sharon’s journey.
Daytime Confidential: First, Congratulations to The Young and the Restless for celebrating 50 years on the air!
Sharon Case: Thank you so much. It is really a big anniversary! It's funny because I remember the 25th anniversary. That was so exciting to me, to be there. I guess I'd only been there about three years to celebrate such a big anniversary at the time. I remember what a huge party we had! It was just very fancy and formal. We went to the Beverly Hills Hotel ballroom, and we had this big party. Everybody was dressed in gowns! I have pictures from that night still on my bookshelf in my house. Going all the way back to that night, I remember we had gambling tables for fun! Nothing serious.
DC: I love that you were there for 25 and you're still here 50. You've been on the show since 1994, what does it mean to have such a lasting legacy with the show?
SC: It's so incredible. I was just talking to Jason Thompson (Billy Abbott) the other day about it and he's like, “It's just as strange to say you did anything at all in your life for 28 years?” I mean, who does that? No one! It is unique all on it’s own to do anything, any one thing for that long! So, that's a great accomplishment! To have had Y&R, this family and this incredible show, in my life... it's just amazing to me. I'm completely forever grateful.
DC: Back when you first started did you think you'd still be in Genoa City living Sharon’s life 28 years later?
SC: You know, I keep thinking back to the 25th anniversary. All of a sudden being a part of this big show and party! It was such an honor to be able to be part of any of that at the time. I was so young! I just I didn't think in terms of the far, far away future. I never thought about being on the show for 25 more years beyond that night. That would seem crazy! I probably just couldn't stretch my mind up for this future. I was probably just thinking about, you know, tomorrow or the weekend at the time.
DC: Sharon has lived the soap opera life through and through! She's done it all: from weddings to accidental murders and everything in between. Do you have a favorite storyline or anything that you just really enjoyed playing?
SC: Well, lately. I've been seeing people sharing our 10,000th episode [on social media]. Sharon and Tucker’s (Stephen Nichols) wedding, Victor (Eric Braeden) faking his death and having a fake funeral. I recently just watched the scenes and I’ve watched them over and over again. I loved that show! I've always remembered that show so fondly. It's great to see it again. Watching it again, it was better than I remembered!
DC: Sharon tragically lost her husband, Rey (Jordi Vilasuso), earlier this year in a car accident. You, ma'am, put on a show! Walk me through what it took to make those scenes shine.
SC: Well, thank you very much. I mean, it took everything out of me! They were really difficult scenes to play. How do you play such shock and loss together? It's really very hard. So, I don't know how I got through that. I think I was worried about it for days before shooting! Like, “Oh my God. How am I going to do this?!” I wanted it to be good, because I wanted to honor the character, and of course, Jordi. I didn't have a lot of time really think about that. We don't get the scripts right away! So, I didn't know exactly how it happened, or if it was a shocker. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a long drawn-out thing. One good thing is, I was working with Josh Morrow (Nick) in the scenes. It tends to happen that I can do anything when I'm working with him.
DC: Listen, you can't go wrong there. The formula you two have created is simply amazing. It has been the entire time you have worked together.
SC: Whatever is called upon us, and he and I have had some tough situations and scenes, we’ve just managed to get there! Both of us!
DC: It’s that magic. You can’t explain it.
SC: Yep. That's our magic. He and I are just willing to really commit and go for it. And just be there for each other and push each other in the scene. We've got all that down after this many years!
Recommended Articles
DC: With Rey gone do you think Sharon should stay single for a while? Or should she try to jump back in the dating pool?
SC: Well, I'm glad that she has been single for a while. Let’s see, when did Rey pass away? We shot it in March. I think it aired in April. So, it's been six months. I think moving forward she can start thinking about romance from here. Six months in soap opera time is like a year in real life! I’m not saying she should jump right into the sack with somebody, but lean towards looking around. Meeting and greeting, you know?
DC: Sharon gets to interact with so many different people and different characters as the owner of Crimson Lights. Is it fun to have a part in all the stories that end up in the coffee shop?
SC: It does work out that she gets to be involved with a lot of people and their stories because everybody [comes] into that coffee shop. You're right! I am glad about that. I hope even more goes down there. It's always been a great, really fun set. I’m glad Sharon owns that iconic set. In the early days, Josh and I thought of it like the coffee house they would go to in Friends. Now, it’s become something quite different. All kinds of things go down there. They come there to talk all their dirty business. It gives Sharon the opportunity to talk to people, and hopefully get involved in a lot of different nonsense.
DC: Is there anyone specifically you haven't worked closely with that you would like to?
SC: I haven't gotten to work that closely with Jill (Jess Walton) and I would love to! I really haven't worked much with Billy (Jason Thompson) Although, I think Sharon and Billy have had their short history! It's been many years since they've really had anything significant. Jason Thompson is such a great actor, and so is Jess Walton. It would be really fun to work with both of them.
DC: Speaking of Sharon's past, is there anyone or anything else you'd like to see her revisit?
SC: When we were doing the JT (Thad Luckinbill) murder storyline, I got to work with all the ladies. We all had a great time together. Camryn [Grimes], Gina [Tognoni], Melody [Thomas Scott] and Amelia [Heinle]! We all had such a great time working on that storyline, but I didn't really get to explore working specifically with Amelia! I mean just me and her. We kind of touched on that a little bit back then, but it never played out into a big storyline. I think that would be great.
DC: What are your thoughts on Sharon having a psychology degree and being a therapist, especially given her history?
SC: I mean, in trying to tell a drama, it's not necessarily a common dramatic tool. I think that as far as who Sharon is, I’d like to think that she decided to become a psychologist because it was part of her trying to get her own manic depression under control. Not only by seeing a psychologist and getting on meds, but also trying to be steady and learn her condition through her classes. It all blends into to trying to make herself a little bit more stable. As far as how important, it really was an escape! But then, of course, you know, it's a soap opera! She can be stable for a while, but then she's got to be [unstable] again, at some point! She’s gonna have to go off her meds or maybe the cocktail she's taking is wrong over time. She needs to adjust it!
Sharon Case/CBS
DC: Sharon is currently in a transition period. Rey is gone, and now she's an empty nester! Where is her headspace right now?
SC: You know, I don't know. She's involved in helping the kids [Mariah and Tessa] with their adoption, and she’s working at the coffeehouse. I think she's just taking things a day at a time right now. Now that her kids are gone she doesn’t have to worry about coming home and taking care of the little ones. Or even what kind of impression she's making on them. I think now’s a really good time for her to go crazy and have a bunch of fun. She can be silly and her old self.
DC: That would be so much fun! I feel like Sharon is a character who hasn't really gotten to do that much over the years. So, that would be refreshing.
SC: Yeah, I think it would be too, because she's always been under scrutiny. She can't behave this way or that way because she’s got the kids at home! Well, the kids are gone now. So, let's see, what she could get into.
