Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

This month has seen many twists and turns in the relationships between Sharon Newman (Sharon Case), Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow), and Mariah Copeland (Camryn Grimes), and we are just half way though September!  Nick finally popped the question to Sharon once again, and the star-crossed duo are seemingly on their way to saying their “I do’s!”  Meanwhile, Mariah is trying to come to grips with the fact that Sharon is actually her biological mother, and that she was given away at birth, and into the hands of sociopath Ian Ward (Ray Wise)!  And everyone in Genoa City better beware, because Phyllis (Gina Tognoni) is finally awake and out of her coma, and when she gets back to town, it can only wreak more havoc for the complex Shick family!

On-Air On-Soaps had the opportunity to sit down with Sharon Case, Joshua Morrow, and Camryn Grimes to talk about all the on-going drama, and the history of these three actors and their characters, which harkens back two decades for Sharon and Joshua, and almost 14 years for Camryn.  And with this being a very special month for Sharon, who is celebrating her 20th anniversary on-air with the number one daytime drama, the time was right for us to take a stroll down memory, look at the present, and even try to predict the future.

What we did glean from our visit with this dynamic, funny, and oh-so talented trio, is that Y&R viewers are in for a major rollercoaster ride as the story of Sharon, Nick, and Mariah continues to heat up as we continue into fall!  How much time will elapse before Sharon’s secret, that she switched Summer’s (Hunter King) paternity test to make it look like Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) is the young gal’s bio-dad, and not Nick, comes to light and throws a huge monkey wrench into the happy couple’s bliss?  Now that is the million dollar question!  Here’s our candid conversation with three of our all-time favorites!

MICHAEL:

Sharon’s 20th on-screen anniversary with The Young and the Restless just happened!  It’s quite a milestone.  So, let’s first talk about Sharon!  Joshua, tell me what happened when you first met Sharon Case?

JOSHUA:

Courtesy/CBS

The first time I met her, we were doing a multi-screen test with six girls, maybe. The show had other Sharon’s previously.  I remember it was late in the day after work.  They had all these beautiful actresses come in and Sharon was clearly “The Sharon”!

MICHAEL:

Did you have input with the producers, as to who of the girls was the best for the part of Sharon Collins?

JOSHUA:

Yeah, they asked me.  I said, “She is definitely the best of all of them.”  Now my word didn’t mean anything back then, as I was just a kid off the bus from Oklahoma. Nowadays, I get to pick who I want to work with! (Laughs)

CAMRYN:

This is like hearing the story of how your parents met!  (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

So Joshua, how do you think Sharon turned out?

JOSHUA:

She’s the best!  I mean 20 years, and Sharon has won awards and accolades for her work, because she is who she is, and because she is great, and perfect for this role.

MICHAEL:

Camryn, what did you think as a little girl when you met your on-screen mother for the first time?

CAMRYN:

I would just like to say: I don’t remember specifics being six-years-old at that time. I don’t think I tested with Joshua and Sharon.  I remember I auditioned one day and got the part the next day.  What I do remember is that Joshua and Sharon were so young and kind of the same age as my real life parents, and so it seemed like a very seamless transition.  I was with Sharon and Joshua every day, and I remember carrying this doll around and I use to hate it …

MICHAEL:

… And now you are on the show in a nightie! (Laughs)

CAMRYN:

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(Laughs) I ended up hating that doll so much, because I had to carry it around with me everywhere, and so Joshua would play football with it.  I think one time it got caught in the light switch and the lighting guys would get upset …

JOSHUA:

… Yes, it would get caught sometimes, and one of the crew would have to knock it down.  I just remember our then producer Ed Scott going, “Please don’t throw the doll up into the lights!” (Laughs)

CAMRYN:

I just remember Sharon feeling like she was a big sister to me, and being able to talk to her, and that it was a lot of fun.

MICHAEL:

Sharon, it’s been 20 years on the number one soap opera, does it feel like two decades have gone by?

SHARON:

It does and it doesn’t.  I look back and think about all those days, and scripts, and all those love scenes, and photo shoots!

JOSHUA:

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I was never in my clothes back then!  I was way more naked back then … then I am in now!

SHARON:

I keep asking for more nude scenes … and that doesn’t happen! (Laughs)  So, I guess my weight around her doesn’t mean that much after 20 years.  (Laughs)  Seriously though, it doesn’t feel like I have been here 20 years, but it feels surreal.

MICHAEL:

O.K. Sharon, it’s your turn.  What do you recall when you first met Joshua?

SHARON:

I remember that screen test day too, and all the girls trying out for it.  I remember the scene was in Fenmore’s, and Joshua being super cute, and really handsome, and sweet to me.  Joshua was a good actor, and really professional too!  I remember him being very helpful, and thanks to him, I did a good job in the scene.

MICHAEL:

Joshua, you are responsible for delivering to the soap universe Sharon Case!  For myself and millions of fans, we thank you!

JOSHUA:

Wow!  I should be getting a gift!

SHARON:

You know sometimes, the other person you are paired with in a scene doesn’t help you out a lot, but Joshua did.  It was the beginning of our beautiful 20-year relationship.

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

MICHAEL:

What do you recollect when they producers of Y&R told you that you were now going to have an on-screen daughter? 

SHARON:

Someone said, “You know, your daughter is here. You should go meet her!”  And so I go, “Yeah, I guess I should.  Where is she?”  I couldn’t believe I was going to be playing the mother of a six-year-old.  I felt a little young at the time, but I also thought this is going to be a challenge for me as an actress.  I have never played a mom before.  When I met Camryn she looked me up and down.  I will never forget what she said!  She said, “You’re going to be my mom?” (Laughs)

CAMRYN:

I was such a brat!

SHARON:

It wasn’t that you were being bratty; it just was I didn’t look like I would be a mother to a six-year-old.  I looked like a kid myself!  I thought Camryn’s reaction was honest.  So I responded to her by saying, “Yes!  I am playing your mother, and I feel ya.  But we will work it out.”  And we did!

MICHAEL:

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

I must give kudos to Joshua, who was terrific in the recent weeks, as Nick was putting the pieces together of who exactly Mariah was!  It was the first time that I recall where Nick was not being a doofus, or wasn’t an idiot, and he figured everything out on his own!  How was playing that? (Laughs)

JOSHUA:

Well, I’m not used to not being an idiot! (Laughs)  It was untested ground for Nick. (Laughs)  It was a great story!  I really enjoyed telling it.  I thought Camryn did an amazing job of playing someone else.  It is such a distinct difference from Cassie,  and I really liked that she was hitting on me … like all the time! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Camryn, you told me when you first came back to the Y&R, and I suggested Mariah would hit on Nick, that the show would never go down that road!  See what happened!  I know these things! (Laughs)

CAMRYN:

I really did not think they would really go down that road, and then … they really went down that road!

SHARON:

Joshua is the only one amused by it!

CAMRYN:

Joshua thought it was hysterical!  I thought he was going to be horrified like I was, and have a normal sane person’s reaction.  But he just thought it was the funniest thing in the world!

JOSHUA:

Courtesy/Pinterest

Now let’s be clear: I wasn’t enjoying Camryn Grimes putting the moves on Joshua Morrow.  However, what I was taking an incredible amount of pleasure in enjoying was watching the physical effect it was having on Cammie saying the words, and looking longingly at me.

CAMRYN:

Oh God!

JOSHUA:

She was turning green!  Me and the cameraman were just ruining her.  This poor girl!

CAMRYN:

The peak of it was when we had that fantasy thing, and originally I thought it was going to be that we kissed, well at least, that’s what I heard.  I was trying to be like, “O.K. You’re going to do it, and you’re going to be a professional, and it’s going to be fine! He’s an attractive person   …” I was psyching myself up for this, and then we weren’t going to kiss.  We did this thing where I literally got so close to Joshua’s face, and then they yelled, “Cut!”  Then after that, I fell to the ground.

JOSHUA:

When I knew it was happening, I was never going to allow the kiss to happen, but I could not tell her that.  I already talked to our executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and said, “You know, I am not putting my mouth on this young woman.  She is like my child.”  Jill went, “Of course! Of course!”  But I knew this bothered Camryn so much!

SHARON:

But if it was your on-screen sister … that would have been OK!

JOSHUA:

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

Right!   I would have attacked Amelia Heinle (Victoria) or Abby (Melissa Ordway)! (Laughs)  I had to draw my boundaries somewhere!  (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Sharon, when the story called for Mariah to try to seduce Nick, how did you handle that?

SHARON:

Oh, I just didn’t watch.  I thought, “You know what?  If I just pretend this isn’t happening, then I won’t know, and then I will be better off.”

CAMRYN:

After those scenes, Jessica Collins (Avery) came out of her dressing room, and I was explaining to her what happened as I was leaving the set, and she said, “Oh, you poor thing!” (Laughs)

JOSHUA:

It was honestly one of the most fun things; I just killed Cammie about it.  I was teasing her and going, “You are looking at my butt, aren’t you?”  And then I am lifting up my shirt going, “You want some of this!” (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Joshua and Sharon, what have you thought about Camryn’s recent on-air performances?  I think she has been knocking it out of the park!

JOSHUA:

Courtesy/CBS

Even when Camryn was a child, I never thought of her as just this “kid actress”.  She is just crushing scenes right now, and to watch her come in and play this completely different role has been incredible.  When she left the show, Camryn was a child, and now she is a woman.  This person that I love so much has grown up. The scenes that she did where she learns that Sharon was her mother in the hospital were some of the best I have ever seen.  I was so impressed.

SHARON:

We were all very impressed; those hospital scenes were really great.

CAMRYN:

I always seem to do really well in those hospital beds.

JOSHUA:

You kill hospital scenes! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Courtesy/CBS

And this leads us into the heartbreaking and phenomenal Cassie deathbed scenes years ago at her hospital bedside.   It was unforgettable soap opera!

SHARON:

Joshua stole those scenes.  He was incredible.

CAMRYN:

I thought so too! I had to play being dead and I was crying.  And to play that with make-up running down my face, and not move was so hard.

SHARON:

I haven’t watched the scene in a long time, but every time I do I get teary-eyed.  It’s sad every time you watch it.

MICHAEL:

It’s a classic scene that will get you every time.  A hankie bonanza!

CAMRYN:

I remember walking into the room and my grandma was bawling watching it. I am like, “Why are you crying? She goes, “It’s just so sad!”

SHARON:

Photo Credit: Getty Images

It is just so sad that I don’t want it to see it on purpose!

MICHAEL:

Camryn, what happened when you found out that you were actually playing Cassie’s twin? At what point in the process were you clued in to what was happening?

CAMRYN:

I didn’t know for awhile.  When I first came back it was literally supposed to be for four to six episodes.  I thought it was going to be for a short stint, and then the show kept adding and adding more episodes, and that was in June of last year.  And then by October of last year I was like, “What is going on?  Is something happening?  Is this ending anytime soon?”  I was getting a sense that something must be in the works, and finally they said, “We are trying to figure it out. We are planning something.”  I didn’t know it was going to end up being a twin storyline.  First, it was, “You’re going to be alive and playing Mariah.”  I kind of found out in increments as I would get information.

SHARON:

I had no information!  I never like to know storyline in advance.

MICHAEL:

You don’t want to know the story, even if it’s one where they make Sharon go crazy, or wackadoodle for a bit?

SHARON:

Courtesy/CBS

Yes.  I like to be surprised!  I mean, I read my scripts on Monday so I know what is happening, and what I am shooting that week, so I am that much surprised.  I am not one of those actors who wants to sit down and ask a bunch of storyline questions.  When a new character comes to the show for length of time, or for a day, I am kind of interested in that to find out what is going on, but for my own storyline, and for where my story is going to go, I don’t want to sit down and hear the whole thing.  It’s fun to guess, and the fans guess, too!  I like to experience it from that side as well.  As for Camryn, she has been coming back and forth to the show now for years.  She has been playing a ghost, either to Sharon or Nick, and as far as we knew, that was what we were doing.  I didn’t know that she was going to be the twin.

MICHAEL:

What do you think of Sharon’s reaction to learning she had given birth to twins? Didn’t you expect her to have more of a traumatic meltdown?  That was such a big revelation!

SHARON:

I think that we move in to other aspects of the story, and additional drama comes.  So, I think that if there weren’t all that going on, then yeah, Sharon would continue to focus and spin on that forever: “Oh my God!  I had a twin!”   But she can’t, because we have Phyllis waking up and all these other dramas in Sharon’s life going-on.  This storyline is really action packed between Mariah’s story, and all these other things happening at the same time.  There is just a lot to see.  Sharon has a lot of things to be concerned about.  She always does.  Sharon always micro-manages her life and overthinks everything.

MICHAEL:

Nick proposed to Sharon on last Friday’s episode!

JOSHUA:

Courtesy/CBS

Yes! He has been ready to propose, but Sharon was the one who had reservations.  He was ready to go, but Sharon has had concerns about this looming secret.  She just didn’t want to mess things up for them.  So, Nick was patiently waiting around.  I think it was in a scene with Mariah where she said, “You guys aren’t really a family!” And I think that kind of triggers it for Nick, where he thought, “You know what?  It’s time.  Now is the right time to make it official for Sharon.”  So he does ask her to marry him, and she was ready now, I guess. (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Isn’t this what Sharon Newman has always wanted?

SHARON:

Sharon has always wanted to marry Nick.  There has never been any real doubt in her mind. She is head over heels in love with Nick.  The only reason Sharon didn’t want to get married yet was because she really was concerned about this secret, and it ending up hurting Nick, and then God forbid having something happen to their marriage.

MICHAEL:

But she did say “Yes” this time!  Why so?  She just can’t resist Nick’s charms, can she?

SHARON:

Courtesy/CBS

She did say, “Yes!”, because I guess she just can’t help herself around Nick! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Sharon is finally on her way to getting the nucleus of the family she so desperately wanted back!  However, Phyllis just woke up and when she hits town methinks things will start to fall apart!

JOSHUA:

She just awakened, and so when Phyllis is upright and moving around, we are looking forward to her throwing a wrinkle into the dynamic of Nick and Sharon.

MICHAEL:

What are your thoughts on how Gina Tognoni is doing inhabiting the role of Phyllis?

JOSHUA:

She has done great.  I just finished doing some scenes with her.  I watched her scenes on the monitor and she is doing very well.  I am very impressed.  As I have said to you before, she has huge shoes to fill, but I hope the fans will give her a decent shot, because it’s tough.  Recasts are always tough, and this one, in particular will be very tough, because of how big Michelle Stafford (Ex-Phyllis, now Nina, GH) was, and that the character of Phyllis is so huge.  So, we’ll see.  If the fans give Gina a chance, I think she is going to be amazing.

SHARON:

Courtesy/CBS

I have always watched Gina’s work.  I always knew she would be right for the role.  The character she played on Guiding Light (Dinah) was similar to Phyllis and sure enough, it’s like she has had some experience in playing this role, somehow.  Gina just stepped right into it the part like she knew everything about it.

MICHAEL:

When I recently interviewed Gina, she told me that playing a character like Phyllis was in her “wheelhouse”.

SHARON:

O.K.!   So that makes sense, because of Dinah.  I was mentioning to Joshua that Gina has that look in her eye that this character is supposed to have like, “I am going to kill you!” That is the look Phyllis has all the time! (Laughs)  And Gina has that!  It’s really amazing!

JOSHUA:

Then, what’s the look Sharon always has in her eyes?

SHARON:

Yeah, what is the look?

JOSHUA:

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Well, the look Nick always has is, “Hey, let’s get in the Jacuzzi!” (Laughs)

SHARON:

No!  It’s “Go make me a sandwich!”

CAMRYN:

It’s somewhere between, “I’ll be in the Jacuzzi … when my sandwich is ready!”

MICHAEL:

Mariah is not handling that Sharon is her biological mother very well.  Guess that is an understatement.  She is just wandering around Genoa City!

CAMRYN:

She is wandering about, and she is not really sure what she wants.  She is trying to determine if she is going to flee, because that is what she is so used to doing, or what is keeping her here.  I think right now she is trying to figure out where she belongs, and how she is going to take this next step.

JOSHUA:

I meant to tell you Camryn, that there was a scene that was so minor, but I thought it was so amazing the other day, and that was when you were in the Underground.  You walked in and turned around and saw Hunter King (Summer).  The look the two of you gave each other was so freakin’ good!  I was like, “That is what it’s all about.  Right there!”

CAMRYN:

Courtesy/CBS

The rivalries between Mariah, Abby, and Summer – Melissa Ordway, Hunter King, and I – have been a lot of fun in playing that dynamic. Hunter and I have some fun scenes coming up that are still along those lines.  However, I do like that Mariah has a friend.  I like that somebody at least enjoys her company … even though she can be a little bitchy.

MICHAEL:

Nick likes her!

JOSHUA:

Yeah, Nick likes her a lot… as soon as she stops trying to get in his pants! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Is that over with?

CAMRYN:

Yeah, I think so… or is it?  (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

Joshua and Sharon, what did you think of Nick’s proposal that aired last Friday?  Did you like how it was written, and how it played, given the history of these characters?

JOSHUA:

Courtesy/CBS

Nick takes her to the place where they fell in love, and where he proposed the first time, which is the coffee house.  There is so much history between these two characters.  Nick tells his new brother Dylan (Steve Burton) to clear out the joint, and he makes it very special.  Nick is always a sucker for a big romantic moment.  I liked the scenes very much.

SHARON:

I did, too.  They were very sweet.  I thought the scenes were really beautiful.  It was nice to do it in the coffee house, because that was the first place that they got engaged.  It was a very emotional proposal.  I don’t know what we could have done to make those scenes any better.

JOSHUA:

We could’ve have gotten in a Jacuzzi!  Has there ever been a proposal in a Jacuzzi on a soap?  (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

And what is Mariah’s reaction to the news of their engagement?

CAMRYN:

Mariah is not really happy about much these days! (Laughs)  She is troubled.

JOSHUA:

I feel like Mariah must listen to the music of Tori Amos all of the time! (Laughs)

CAMRYN:

Courtesy/CBS

She listens to Alanis Morrisette! (Laughs)  I think this has been a stressful time for her.  I think any change or new information at this point, or anybody’s perceived happiness, will be very upsetting, because she has been through so much.  She has had the rug pulled from out from under her and that whole situation, and then the big fight with Sharon, and the betrayal and the trust broken.

MICHAEL:

Did you enjoy playing the bitter war of words between Sharon and Mariah, before Mariah was kidnapped by Ian (Ray Wise), and everyone came to the realization of just how these women are truly related?

CAMRYN:

Yes.  Those were tough, because there was a lot of dialog, and it was scene after scene. But they were fun!  It’s always fun to scream at somebody, when it’s not real.  And it’s fun to get in a fight with somebody on-screen, especially when it’s that charged.

SHARON:

We must have had 70 pages of dialog!

CAMRYN:

What got me so crazy is that I said horrible, horrible things to Sharon.  And Mariah keeps saying how Sharon kept saying horrible things to her, but what Mariah said to Sharon was so bad!

SHARON:

Courtesy/CBS

They were great scenes.  There have been so many days we have shot recently that I have loved. That Mariah and Sharon scene was the beginning of it, and there are so many great shows to come.

CAMRYN:

There is an upcoming episode that I am so excited about.  I think that they just wrote a primetime show for daytime, and it was so much fun to shoot.  It was one of those episodes where there is so much drama, and there are so many storylines in it.  It airs on September 30th which centers around Nick’s bachelor party, and Sharon’s bachelorette party.

SHARON:

It’s must-see TV!

MICHAEL:

Joshua, are you in it?  Do you show up at the bachelor party? (Laughs)

JOSHUA:

Am I in it? (Laughs)  You think the fans would go for that, if I’m not in it? (Laughs)  That would anger the masses! (Laughs)

Photo Credit: Hutchins Photo

CAMRYN:

Everyone’s in it.  The fans will love it. There are comedy elements to it, too.

SHARON:

There are so many great shows like that from the bachelor party and more.  We have been really busy over here.

MICHAEL:

I know they have been very busy recently with some major casting news in Genoa City.  It seems like everyone is trying to up their game of the four remaining network soaps.  And look at what’s going on between Y&R and GH with these “casting wars”!

JOSHUA:

Doesn’t it seem like they are playing a high-priced game of monopoly?  (Laughs) It’s like Fantasy Football, actually!

SHARON:

It just seems all of a sudden there is a concentration of that going on.  Over the years, people have appeared on two or three soaps. Right now there seems to be …

CAMRYN:

… A lot of back and forth!

MICHAEL:

Photo Credit: Francois G Durand/WireImage

It would seem that Kevin (Greg Rikaart) and Mariah could just be each other’s next love match!  What are your thoughts on that Camryn?

CAMRYN:

I think anything is possible.  I like working with Greg … he is really funny.  I knew Greg when he first came on to the show.  I don’t know which writer is up there writing our scenes, but they are really fun.

SHARON:

You two together are amazing to watch, and you both play it really well. I love that pairing!

CAMRYN:

I am a geeky, nerdy person in real-life.  So playing that dynamic with Greg is so easy for me.  It’s like types of conversations that I would have with my guy friends, sometimes.

MICHAEL:

But there is always Nick!

JOSHUA:

She’s always got that ace up her sleeve! (Laughs)

MICHAEL:

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Joshua, are you in a good place and enjoying the current story for Mr. Nick Newman?

JOSHUA:

I have been busy telling a lot of story which has been fun.  I always love my job, and this show, and I love this medium.  I take it very personally when people put it down for any reason. I have been off Twitter sometimes, because I can’t handle the negativity that surrounds it now.  It used to be this forum that is fun and for people to share thoughts, but now it’s become this insane play box.  It’s like, who gives you the right to make fun of people I work with and complain about it? You obviously have your opinion, but the negativity is what resonates with people.  Look, obviously 90% of the feedback is positive.

CAMRYN:

I know what he is saying.  You read the positive ones, and you go, “Oh, wow!  That makes me feel so good.” And then the ones that are negative stick with you.  Unfortunately, I feel that is just the way that it goes.

SHARON:

For me, my fans have been so supportive on my boards it’s been a delight to read.  That is mostly what I say. I found myself tweeting recently, “Thank you everyone for your comments.  It’s so overwhelmingly positive. Thank you.”

Courtesy/CBS

MICHAEL:

Sharon, I feel you should have the last word in the interview, because you just celebrated 20 years on-air.  So here we go!  In closing, what would you like to say?

SHARON:

My final word would be, “Thanks to the fans. That is really what matters here.”  I sat down to tweet everyone: CBS, Sony, the Bell Family, the cast and the crew, but I really want to, here and now, thank the fans for watching The Young and the Restless and sticking with it for 40 plus years, and with my character for the last 20.  It’s been an honor.

JOSHUA:

I want the last word, and it’s going to be, “helicopter”! (Laughs)