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It’s been an action-packed, drama-heavy few months for Sharon on Young and Restless, who has confessed to a murder — Heather’s — that she may not even have committed. Soap Opera Digest checked in with her Daytime Emmy-winning portrayer, Sharon Case, about Sharon’s mental state and efforts to clear her name, plus her renewed conflict with Phyllis and closeness to Nick.
Soap Opera Digest: This week’s episodes have taken Sharon to an interesting juncture in this storyline, as she is in the throes of questioning her own culpability in Heather’s death — a turning point, for sure.
Sharon Case: Oh, yeah, it is. The story has been taking a lot of different turns, and now we’re at this juncture where she wants to be hypnotized and figure out what is happening when she’s blacking out.
Digest: It was such a great twist when Colleen Zenk and Ray Wise came back into the Genoa City mix. How did you find out that Jordan and Ian were part of this whole conundrum for Sharon?
Case: Well, I found out when I read it in the script! I hadn’t necessarily known who it was [who was framing Sharon] or that they were involved. But I think that there are even more twists to come, that the way things appear to be now and the whodunnit and who did what, these things are constantly in flux. These are things that are constantly in flux. So even though you may see a show and it looks like you’ve resolved one thing — “Who did what?” — well, wait and see! I mean, I’m just as anxious to know the end of the story as anyone because they are really great, exciting stories. I like to be on the edge of my seat as well!
Digest: One of the things about this storyline that I think has worked well is that it has made use of the great and rich history Sharon has with so many different characters, and certainly, Sharon and Phyllis’s animosity has really cranked back up recently. Have you been enjoying that aspect of the story?
Case: There are so many aspects that I love about it, mostly just that it’s so well-written. But yes, within the story, Sharon is involved with so many people from her whole history on the show, which is great and interesting and fun for me, and I think for the audience as well. And you’re right, it has ratcheted up the Sharon and Phyllis conflict, which is perfect! I think that’s a great rivalry and we haven’t really played that for years. You can’t play it all the time, but I love to swing back to it and I love the way the storyline has been written and laid out. It kind of taps into a lot of different things — we’ve got Ian and Jordan and now we’ve got the Sharon and Phyllis problem, always fighting and being at odds when they’re in each other’s realms and in each other’s orbit again. One basic storyline is now pulling in a lot of other stories that we love to tell, and they’re all tied in.
Digest: Sharon’s decision to move forward with hypnosis comes on the heels of her articulating that she knows she’s in some kind of danger, and she feels that Faith may also be in danger — really anyone in her orbit that she cares about. So that’s a pretty heavy burden for her to be shouldering. How would you characterize her frame of mind at this juncture?
Case: Well, I think she doesn’t know, really, where the problem is coming from or who’s attacking her. She just found out that her meds were laced with drugs, and that’s pretty terrifying. And Sharon has to wonder who else is going to be attacked in her family. That’s pretty scary. So that is part of why she decides to go under hypnosis, to see if maybe that could reveal something, because at the point when she finds out about her meds being laced, she doesn’t know who [is responsible] and there’s really no leads on how to figure that out. She’s pretty scared and she’s doing whatever she can.
Digest: Do you think Nick voicing his skepticism that hypnosis will work got in her head at all?
Case: She does usually agree with Nick and take his advice. They see eye to eye on a lot, and maybe she does see Nick’s point of view, but Sharon expresses that she has to do this regardless; we have to look under every stone at just everything because there’s just too much danger going on in the environment right now. “We need to figure it out. And so maybe hypnosis doesn’t lead to anything but I’ve got to at least try.” That’s what she says, and she’s determined to do it.
Digest: Sharon overheard Phyllis tell Lauren that she thinks it’s possible that Sharon might not have been the other driver on the night of her accident. How does that land on Sharon?
Case: It’s a surprise and new information at first, that Phyllis won’t come forward and say, “Hey, I don’t think it was Sharon.” She’s covering this up. So that’s a surprise at first on the one hand, but on the other hand, not really a surprise because, you know, that is Phyllis’s m.o. towards Sharon! Oftentimes, Phyllis wants to do whatever she can to take Sharon down. So, it’s another problem that she has to solve, you know? Phyllis is a problem, who’s poisoning her meds is another one, her family is in danger … It just adds to the pile of things that are going on, that not only is there this tampering with her drugs business happening, and her blackouts, but now Phyllis is coming around again, trying to entrap Sharon — I suppose that’s the way it would look to Sharon, that Sharon is being accused of running her off the road, and Sharon admits that she was there on the road that night, but without Phyllis coming forward with this [she can’t clear her name]. It’s a perfect conflict for those two to have within this storyline, though.
Digest: Sharon has reached out to Alan Laurent to move forward with the hypnosis, and knows it’s important to try to access whatever missing memories she possibly can. But do you think she’s afraid at all of what might emerge under hypnosis?
Case; Maybe a little bit, in the back of her mind? But, not so much as she’s just anxious to get to the truth and see if this hypnosis will uncover anything that gives them a lead on who’s been after her. I think that even though she might be slightly hesitant, on the other hand, she wants to lean into this. She’s really adamant about doing so.
Digest: We’ve seen Sharon in such an intense state of turmoil and guilt because for so long now, she has believed herself to be guilty of killing Heather. Do you think she’s allowed herself to hope that she might find out that’s not the case?
Case: You’re right, she has been in a lot of turmoil, and guilt is part of it. I think she’s maybe a little bit fearful that the hypnosis could reveal that she is indeed guilty, and that she is correct in her confession [to the murder]. But I think that the not knowing is probably bothering her more than anything. So even if the hypnosis reveals that she is in fact guilty, she would rather know that for sure and not have any questions.
Digest: Moving ahead to the hypnosis session itself, I’m curious how you chose to play the scenes. Is Sharon all business? Is she steeling herself, is she anxious? What is it actually like for her when it’s go time?
Case: When it was finally go time, Sharon was very focused and committed to the task at hand. Yes, she has a million different emotions going on at one time, daily. But now she sees this is her chance to, hopefully, maybe, uncover some information. So she really zeroes in and just focuses on working with Alan and making sure that the hypnosis really works. She wants to contribute to making that work as best she can. So that’s where all the focus goes.
Digest: Michael and Nick join her at the session. Why does she want them there?
Case: Sharon feels it’s better to have more people there, more witnesses, to hear what it is that she says and discovers while she’s hypnotized. I suppose anyone would want that, in case they are worried that they won’t remember [what comes up in the session]. Having an attorney present is a good idea because there could be really relevant information for the case. Just having more ears, more eyeballs, on this to try to figure it out [is a good thing]. Maybe they can decode more of what Sharon uncovers under hypnosis than Sharon can.
Digest: Well, as you know, there are still a lot of very devoted Nick and Sharon fans out there, and I’ve seen a lot of discourse online from fans who really appreciate the extent to which Nick has had Sharon’s back throughout this and been advocating for her and supporting her. I would love to hear your thoughts about that.
Case: I think it’s a lovely… another portion of this big story. We were saying how this main story has brought in so many different relationships, and that is one of them and it is really nice that that has been threaded through this, that Sharon has had Nick by her side the whole time. It really shows how connected they really have been all these years and still are. And who else would help or save Sharon other than Nick, the man that she’s really spent her life with, married or not? So I’m glad to see that he was the one who has really helped her out and has really been by her side and just giving her all the support in the world. I think that the Sharon/Nick love story being played into is great. So the story has everything to offer — a whodunit storyline, a car crash, you’ve got love involved, two people who are reconnecting on their love and their history.
Digest: What can you tease about what fans should look out for in terms of what comes to light during the hypnosis session?
Case: There is a key thing that comes out. She does realize that something else happened when she was in Daniel’s apartment; she recalls some new information about what happened in Daniel’s apartment the night that Heather died.
Digest: And is it fair to say that what she uncovers in the session has an impact on how Sharon moves forward as she continues to essentially fight for her life?
Case: Oh, yeah. I think that it does have an impact. What she discovers under hypnosis gives her a lot more verve and reason and drive to keep pushing forward to solve this whole mystery. She’s gotten a few more clues, and she feels there is more to discover based on what she finds out under hypnosis.
Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
Remembrances Of Things Past: Nick (Joshua Morrow, far l.) and Michael (Christian J. Leblanc, c.) are by Sharon’s (Sharon Case) side when she undergoes hypnosis with Alan (Christopher Cousins).
