Interview Y&R: Sharon and Adam, an Unexpected Love (Part 1)

Sharon Case, who has played Sharon Newman on The Young and the Restless since 1994, is as surprised as anyone that Sharon and Adam are in love and got married. As an actress who takes a deep interest in her character, like many fans of the show, she thought her baby would bring Nick and Sharon back together. However, Maria Bell, co-executive producer and head writer, had something else up her sleeve.

Daytime Dial: There has been a lot of crazy stuff going on in Genoa City for Sharon lately. As an actress, has life on the set been fun for you?
Sharon Case: Oh yeah. I love it when I get such a great story line. Always coming in and having something to do makes my job so much easier than to come in and do something where you have kind of stagnant scenes where nothing is really happening. It’s fine when that happens, and it is necessary for you to have times where your story line is to support someone else and letting something slowly build up.

DD: What did you think when you first read in the script that Sharon was going to think her daughter died during childbirth, and that Adam was going to give her child to Ashley?
SC: I was surprised that it was going to be a dramatic story. I guess I always thought that when Nick and Sharon had their baby together, I envisioned that being a happily-ever-after story. They had been through so much — lost a daughter, married different people — I just thought that when they had their daughter together, it would be right. I thought that while Sharon was pregnant they would get back together, maybe even get married and have the baby, with it being a happy occasion for them. I just thought it would be a very lovely, happy time for them.

When I found out it wasn’t going to go that way, I was surprised. When I found out the story was going to be a baby-switch story, I thought, “Oh no, not a baby switch!” Those story lines usually end up being common story lines, but this story ended up being anything but common. This was so fantastically written, and I had no idea something this amazing was around the corner. 

This is the most fun I’ve ever had in a story, that’s for sure. I love all the twists and turns in it, and all the layers. I love Sharon and Adam as a couple. I don’t know why I didn’t see this before. It just makes so much more sense, that if Nick and Sharon weren’t going to be together, that Sharon would be with Nick’s brother. It keeps the triangle going, it keeps it in the family. And I love the chemistry that I have with Michael Muhney, who plays Adam. I love working with him.

DD: What was going through Sharon’s mind to make her marry Adam so impulsively?
SC: When he first asked her to marry him, she did think that it was sudden and too fast. Then she thought twice and realized, I’m not getting any younger and I do love this man. What am I waiting for? There was no reason for her not to marry him. Being with Adam is about moving on — they both wanted to put their ugly pasts behind them and just take giant leaps into the future, and have fun doing it. Adam is about laughing and enjoying life, and that is what Sharon needs. She thinks of Adam as someone she can really talk to. He is her best friend.

DD: How would you like to see Sharon react when/if she finally finds out that Faith is indeed alive, and her husband is the one who made the switch?
SC: I would like to see the story line keep going. I really like working with Michael, but I realize that things eventually have to come out. Obviously Sharon is going to be pretty upset. I don’t like to say how it should happen, because Maria is so much better than me. She will always write something a thousand times better than anything I could have thought of. So, it’s silly for me to even try to predict. I just leave her to do her thing!