Sharon Case Looks Back at Her 25 Years on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS (EXCLUSIVE)

Case says that she feels very lucky to be part of the wildly popular pairing of Nick and Sharon, and to share the screen with Joshua Morrow. “You can’t pick your colleagues or your family, and Josh is both of those to me. I lucked out! He is amazing and hilarious. He is all-around the best co-star and friend that you could ever ask for. I know everybody feels that way about him, but he has made my job a delight!”

Nikki and Sharon’s “has always been one of my favorite relationships on the show!” said Case, here with Melody Thomas Scott. “I just love the love/hate relationship between them. There’s that thing about mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law where it seems natural that we should argue. And I love all the comedy that Melody loves to play. Melody also has a fun time playing their relationship, which makes it fun for me, too! Like Joshua, I have been so lucky to have Melody as my co-star. She is a wonderful woman and an amazing actress!”

“I absolutely love working with Eric Braeden (Victor) — I always have!” declared the soap vet. “He is such a talented actor. When you are in a scene with him, he is so present, so real, he draws you right in, and it makes your job easy. I never have to overthink or plan anything when I have a scene with Eric, because I know it’s going to go really well and feel right to me as an artist.” For years, Victor was a father figure to Sharon, which Case says had many fans rebelling when for a nanosecond the characters were romantically paired. “We did ultimately spin it into something fun to watch, because that was when Sharon started to get crazy and act out. From that regard, I don’t know if the storyline was such a mistake,” she mused. “It propelled Sharon in another direction that lasted for years, which was her mental illness. Now that is part of Sharon’s legacy.”

“Sharon had been pretty much with Nick all her life, and this wasn’t long after they split up,” the Emmy winner said of Sharon’s relationship with Brad (played by Don Diamont, now THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL’s Bill). “She was trying to figure out who she is or who she might end up with in a life beyond Nick. It’s been a long journey for her, and it started back when she felt like she might have something real with Brad. That happens with certain relationships, where you become involved but realize that this person isn’t right for you. It’s hard, and you know you have to keep going until you find that one right person for you.”

Case said that she likes how the romance between Sharon and Rey began with friendship. “It was from working together. Rey is definitely the perfect cop. A shoot-from-the-hip, blunt-talking guy. Maybe Sharon liked cops after losing Dylan!” Case smiled. “When you lose someone, you sometimes try to replace them with someone with similar characteristics. I also like that Sharon had a different career for a period of time, working in the police station. It was nice to explore a different side to Sharon.”

“It was great having a storyline with Eileen Davidson,” Case said, recalling the plot in which Ashley realized Faith wasn’t her daughter. “I think that might have been the only time we worked together. Eileen is usually working at Jabot, and Sharon doesn’t work at those corporations, so Sharon and Ashley don’t run into each other much. I think this scene was when Ashley had to hand Faith and Faith’s belongings back to Sharon. Eileen was amazing in those scenes playing the devastated and heartbroken mother!”

Throughout the years, Y&R’s production pace has picked up, requiring actors to do scenes in one or two takes. “I’ve gotten better at memorizing my dialogue, which is good because I’ve been given more and more dialogue over the years!” Case grinned. “You get used to it, and I now prefer the faster pace. I’ve always felt my first take was the best, so I’m happy we’re done in one take and move on. I think a lot of the vets who have been here a long time agree. We like to move fast!”

“This was quite an interesting time,” recalled Case. “I had never played a mother before and didn’t realize I would be playing one so soon in my career. And a grown child, not a baby! It was really different for me to take on the role of mom, but [Camryn Grimes, who played Cassie at the time] made it so easy. She is so talented! People have said things in this business like you don’t want to work with children or animals, because it makes your job harder because a lot of children don’t know their dialogue. But Camryn always knew her dialogue! She was such a pro. Again, how lucky am I that Camryn Grimes was my daughter then and now [as Mariah]?”

“Weddings are important on soaps, and this was the first wedding and marriage of Nick and Sharon, so we knew it was important,” remembered the bride’s portrayer. “Joshua and I were both nervous about it. We were intent on getting the vows done the way they were supposed to be said. It was a fairy-tale romance and wedding, so it needed to be special. As actors, we just wanted to nail those scenes, and it was nerve-wracking!” It also became a bit real. “I had never played a bride walking down an aisle before, and one of the things that struck me was how real it felt! It kind of knocked me out of the fantasy world!” laughed Case. “As an actor, you need to maintain your focus, but it felt like a real wedding for a moment there!”

Case says that she always thought the relationship — and brief marriage — between her alter ego and Jack was unique. “This was not a couple who slowly fell in love and thought that this was the right person for them. It was more of a conspiracy or an agreement that we were going to do this because we were both angry at our exes, and we thought we could stick it to them this way,” she said in character. “We were partners more than lovers because Nick and Phyllis had their affair. I loved working with Peter Bergman and know we both have fond memories of those scenes.”

One of the most emotional storylines ever played on Y&R was the death of Cassie. “We were all sad to see this beloved child die tragically, and to see Camryn leave the show,” said Case. “But to have this tragedy happen to Nick and Sharon really was what spun them off in other directions. They had been a fairly happy couple, maybe for 10 years up until that point, and understandably, it would take something like this to split them up. We got to tell that story and then, decades after that, how Nick and Sharon found their footing again. [Then we got to] tell the story of who they really are together as adults.”

One of Sharon’s more popular pairings was with Dylan. “People still tweet about Sharon and Dylan today!” laughed Case. “They really worked! He was the first man that Sharon found great happiness and a true match with since Nick. So losing him was really devastating for her!”

Thinking about her Emmy win still brings a smile to Case’s face. “It was a really fun night — and very unexpected. It’s such a wonderful thing to happen when you are a new, young actress on a show,” she shared, grinning. “When you’re new, you just really need to know that you’re doing an okay job, because you’re sort of flailing at the time. Now I’ve played Sharon for 25 years, and she is a well-fleshed-out character. I feel like I know who she is when I’m performing and playing her more than I did back then. So I remember that it meant the world to me to have this acknowledgment. It’s not something I ever imagined would happen. I was on cloud nine all night!”