All the superlatives in the world rang true for Sharon Case’s performances on recent episodes of The Young and the Restless. In story, and in true heartbreaking fashion, Sharon learns from Nick (Joshua Morrow) that her husband, Rey (Jordi Vilasuso) has been killed in a three-car accident involving Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Ashland (Robert Newman). The thing of it was, when Rey was MIA, Sharon knew in her gut that he wasn’t coming back, making the moment she learns of Rey’s fate (from none other than her ex) all the more of a five-star soap opera tearjerker.

What followed was sensational work from Daytime Emmy winner, Case, that resonated so much with the fans of the show that the performance trended on Twitter.  Now with that, came the departure of Case’s longtime scene partner, Jordi Vilasuso, and opened the door for what might befall the long-suffering Sharon Collins Newman Rosales next.

Michael Fairman TV chatted with Sharon to get her perspective on the taping of the gut-wrenching scenes, its fallout, the audience reaction, and if a new romance might be just around the corner for GC’s Sharon … or if she will go it alone for a while. Here’s what she had to say about it all and then some.

The scenes that aired last week where Sharon finds out Rey is dead were so amazing, Sharon.  I’ve watched them back like ten times, because it was that good.  I don’t know if you realized that at the time you taped them.

SHARON:  I didn’t realize it at the time. I was worried after I shot it that maybe it wasn’t good enough or real enough.  You tend to second guess it all the time when it comes to a situation like that because you’re talking about a reaction to a really crazy, shocking, specific moment in someone’s life, and I think people all react a little bit differently. I was just trying to make it organic. After we taped it, I was like, “Was that the right reaction?  I think it was.”  Then, after I watched it, it really felt true and real to me.

Photo: JPI

The way they did it was so quiet and still that you could hear a pin drop.  It was almost like when Nick walked in to tell Sharon, we were watching a moment in a play. 

SHARON:  You know, you’re right.  It was, and the way that it was written and played.  The entire production quality did seem like a play.

When you did the scenes and you left for the set for the day, how did you feel about them?

SHARON:  Well, I had a lot of angst about doing the scene.  It had been on my mind for days.  I was trying to contemplate the variety of ways it could go and what one would really feel.  So, when I finally did it, I thought, “Was that everything I wanted to do?”  We did tape the scene several times, so I had several shots at it.  I did it a little bit differently each time, and I think the one that aired was the final take. During taping, I think I got a little more dramatic each time we performed the scene.  I remember in the final take, my whole face was puffy from crying, and my eyes were red by then, and that one was the most dramatic take. Ultimately, I liked the one they chose for the episode.

Courtesy/CBD

You played it that Sharon knew deep-down that something had happened to Rey, right?

SHARON:  Yeah, she did, and she knew it early in the show.  Something struck her as soon as Rey didn’t return, and Chelsea came in and said, “Where’s Rey?  He hasn’t returned my calls.”  For Sharon, it was that, ‘Oh my, God’ moment, and the worst crossed her mind then and there.  That continued to progress throughout the episode, and she continued to become more disheveled emotionally and physically as the show went on, until finally Nick showed up, and that was it.  I think her heart dropped, and she went into shock right away when he walked it.

Right, because Sharon had the line, “Just give me a minute before you say it,” which brought everyone to tears.

SHARON:  I think Sharon just looked at him, and her heart sank, and she just went around the room babbling and cleaning things.  She didn’t even know what she was doing or saying.  She was already feeling the shock of it and preparing herself for what she was going to hear.

So, Jordi and you had lot of scenes together, obviously.  He was with you through the cancer storyline etc.  It’s always difficult to see somebody leave the show who you’ve worked with for a long time. Would you agree?

SHARON:  Yes.  Oh, it’s always difficult.  It was difficult to shoot the last scene I had with Jordi.  It’s always just very, very sad when somebody leaves the show, especially when it’s somebody who you’ve worked with for years, but that is also the way things go.  I worked with Steve Burton (Ex-Dylan) for years, and I remember shooting his last scene.  It was very heartbreaking.  When Cassie (as then played by a young Camryn Grimes) died, losing her was very heartbreaking.  So, you know, we are no strangers to this, but it’s always very, very sad.

Right, and, of course, you see the outcries.  In the middle of all this you were trending on Twitter.  I think you knew that.

SHARON:  Yes, I was so floored by that.  It was incredible.

See, even years later and being a vet on the show, there’s still a surprise that can await you!  I felt like you got your well-deserved due with it.  People were taking notice of it.

SHARON:  That means so much to me.

Photo: JPI

There were fans who were also like, “Sharon didn’t get a goodbye scene with Rey,” and I get that too, because people would have loved to have seen a major last scene between you and Jordi.  But then again, I don’t know if it would have played the same with the way we are talking about it feeling like a stage play in that moment.

SHARON:  You know, I agree with what you said.  People wanting a goodbye scene makes sense, but this was written differently.  There is no reason to write scenes the same way … every time somebody dies, just go through the same template.  This was different, and with how they told and with what scenes they showed and did not show.  I found that it was really effective.

Then it is Nick who brings the heartbreaking news of Rey’s death to Sharon.  Joshua Morrow was great in the scene, too.

SHARON:  I agree.  He really was.

Photo: JPI

You can never underestimate the on-screen power of Shick.  You and Joshua just have that on-screen magic as scene partners.  You could tell that Nick felt so bad for Sharon.  He’s been her ex-husband, he’s been her best friend, but you could tell Nick wanted to be the one to tell her. Nick also knew how Sharon was going to handle the news.

SHARON:  Yes, because they have such a long history together, and it plays on- screen very nicely. I think because Joshua and I have worked together for that many years, and we’ve been through all of these rough times: hard storylines, people leaving the show, and really tough scenes that we’ve gotten each other through. We’ve gone through whatever is happening in our personal lives all of these years, too.  There’s just a lot of connection between us because of all of the history and beats that Nick and Sharon have shared together in life and on stage, and when we look at each other, that is always in our minds.  It can’t not be.

Photo: CBS

So, as viewers we also prepare ourselves too, “Oh, poor Sharon, and Nick’s got to tell her!”  I think it’s this very visceral thing with soaps where it’s not like any other genre.  There is such a connection between audience, actors, story.  It’s just very different.

SHARON:  Yeah, you’re right.  There is more of a connection like that probably because we are on every day for years and decades. But one thing I do have to say is I like all of the relationships that Sharon has. They’re all interesting, and I love them all, but what is different, or what I feel is different about Nick and Sharon is that they are this real couple.  Of course, both of them sometimes do bad things for the sake of drama and story of the years, but at the end of the day, they are both real people.  It’s not just like this long-term love story that is on and off.   Neither of them is pulling tricks on the other one.  They’re not villains.  They’re just trying to get through their lives.  Of course, bad things have happened.  Nick’s done bad things; Sharon has, as people do in real life too. Watching them get through that over the years has enriched their relationship.

Photo: JPI

Another plot point that they did wrap up in Rey’s story, was for Sharon, in her way, to confront Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan); over Chelsea’s burgeoning feelings for Rey, and they had that scene.  What did you think that?  It was more adult in its delivery without a cat fight between two women.

SHARON:  I liked that about it too, that it was two adults talking and being frank with each other and not the cat fight. Now, the cat fights do have a place on the show for sure, but not every scene has to be like that.

Did Sharon instinctively know in her gut that there was an attraction between Rey and Chelsea? Did she think Chelsea was going to try to steal her man?

SHARON:  Yes! She felt in her gut for a long time that there was an attraction. We’ve seen Sharon in beats where she notices Rey and Chelsea talking or hanging out a lot, or whatever, a connection.  She just finally decided to just say it, and just be frank with Chelsea, and just ask her what’s going on? I would imagine confronting someone and asking them point blank like that what’s really happening is hard. Nobody wants to have that conversation. I liked the way that it was written.  It was very real.  It could have been catty.

Photo: JPI

Then, later, when Sharon was alone with her family and children and mourning Rey’s death, they’re all so concerned for. Basically, she is trying to hold it together, and she keeps saying she has to hold it together for the kids.  Is she just so afraid to let herself completely break down?

SHARON:  I think Sharon feels that she is holding it together for her family.  You know, she’s got kids, and there is about to be a wedding for Mariah and Tessa, and when there is a death in the family, it can rock everybody’s world. She was trying to hold it together, not just for her sake, but for everyone’s sake. Everybody in the family loved Rey, and I think it was just her instinct to be the strong one, but maybe she’s afraid that if she hadn’t made that choice to be the strong one, she would fall apart.  Who knows what would happen to her?  If she just really let it all out, she might spiral completely out of control. It is the fear of the unknown for someone of what could happen to you if you just emotionally and completely lose it.

Photo: JPI

She was saying (and I think why Rey was a good partner for Sharon) is that he was just a good man.  Is that how Sharon saw it?

SHARON:  I think that was it. After dealing with her bipolar disorder and going through that, she had wanted to try to stabilize herself in her life.  Sharon became a therapist not to practice therapy, but to help herself.  You know, sometimes if you read about the illness that you have, it helps you conquer and get through your own illness. She wanted to get better to be a stabilizing influence for her children, and she has become that, and over the last few years, having a stable man in her life like Rey, was part of that agenda of being the best mom she could be.

Photo: JPI

Whereas, if she had ended up with Adam (Mark Grossman), that would have been a different outcome for her, as she decided to made her relationship work with Rey.

SHARON:  Right, and with her children, and for her children’s’ sake that was leading her to that decision, and plus, her past and having been an unstable person. Now her kids are grown, and they’re marrying off.  Going forward, it’s a different time in Sharon’s life.  I don’t think she has to prove anything to herself or anyone else anymore.  She is going to decide what direction to take her life in from here and go for it.

Photo: JPI

Sharon made the call to Rey’s mother, Celeste (Eva LaRue), to let her know her son had died, and obviously now, the funeral is going to be in Miami.  How does Sharon truly feel about this? 

SHARON:  She does come to terms with it.  I think, at first, it just wasn’t something that had ever occurred to her.  In the back of your mind, you think when your loved one dies, they’re not going to be buried somewhere else, but we don’t really think about where burials will happen, thank God.  I think it was just something that she had to consider.  It was a little bit of a shock.  I think Sharon comes to terms with it, and it makes sense that Rey should have his final resting place with his family and at his home, but that doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be a memorial for him, just because the burial isn’t there in Genoa City, and that’s what ends up making sense to her.

Photo: JPI

How does this performance, and the kudos you received for it, stack up against some of the other major moments you have had on Y&R throughout your career? Does this scene now stand as one of your all-time favorites?

SHARON:  Yeah!  It is.  It’s one of my favorites. Not just for the performance that I was happy with or the way that the story was written, but I also put it up there because of the fans’ reactions. There were so many amazing reactions that I read and comments on Instagram and Twitter. They were overwhelmingly lovely, and I’ll never forget that.  The outpouring from the fans was very moving to me. The feedback on Sharon’s reaction to Rey’s death, it was really was just beautiful to me.  I was just so humbled and grateful

Jordi Vilasuso actually retweeted Y&R’s tweet which included the ‘Nick telling Sharon that Rey is dead’ scene, and he gave you and Joshua applause for it.  I thought that was pretty sweet.

SHARON:  Oh, he did?  I didn’t see that tweet.  I’ll have to go to his Twitter account.  Aww. That’s so cool, and you’re right, it was so sweet for him to do that.

Photo: JPI

So, in a broad stroke, where do you think Sharon goes from here?  Is she just going to be in a grieving process, or is this going to be a turning point in her life?

SHARON:  I think it’s going to be a turning point in her life.  I hope that turning point could be a lot of different things, but I would love to see her make a change in her life.  I was speculating that she could be in the grieving process for a while, and maybe she tries to pull herself out of it, but in trying to be too strong, maybe she ends up going off of her meds or becoming a drug addict, or whatever.  When people go through this kind of loss and grief, you don’t know how long it will take or what is going to be next for them, or whether they’ll pull right out of it and make a big, strong change in their life, or if they’ll spiral downward for a little while longer.

Courtesy/CBS

That’s more realistic to life than you’re just fine when somebody dies and it’s over.

SHARON:  Yeah, you’re right, and that never happens that somebody dies and it’s over.  You definitely usually struggle for a long time, and you know what I think would be great is if we did both.  Let’s say Sharon decides to propel her life forward in some really strong business pursuit in life and re-identifies herself as this stronger person in whatever it is she’s doing – maybe with her career or something like that – then at the same time working so hard on that focus while she’s grieving. It then causes her to maybe start using drugs to cope with maintaining that strength.  Not all people who struggle with grief end up on substances, sometimes the substances are not overwhelming, they’re a crutch.  Sometimes these people can be functioning users.  I think that would be an interesting way to go rather than every time someone has something go wrong, their whole life is overcome by this.  Walking a line, and struggling to function, and seeing how they’re managing to function and what they’re doing, that would be a story that I would love to see for her.

Photo: JPI

Do you see Sharon rebounding to another man right away or another relationship? Can she be on her own?

SHARON:  I don’t see her rebounding right away.  I mean, I wouldn’t think that in that kind of grief, anyone is thinking about romance.  I do think she can be on her own.

(Laughs) But we’re in the land of soap operas, and they move things along sometimes and all of a sudden, a character finds themselves in a new/old love story. 

SHARON:  That’s true!  That could be true too, or maybe you find solace in this romance, I don’t know!  I think those would be interesting options, as well.

So, what did you think of Sharon’s performance when Sharon learned of Rey’s death? What do you hope happens next for Sharon? Do you want her to emotionally struggle? Find a new career? Enter another romance? And if so, with whom? Nick? Adam? Someone new? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

👏👏👏👏 @sharonlcase & @JoshuaMorrowYR !!!! https://t.co/xbQss91IWo

— Jordi Vilasuso (@JordiVilasuso) April 21, 2022