Exclusive: Y&R's Camryn Grimes On Sharon's Crisis And 'Teriah'

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Soap Opera Digest caught up with Camryn Grimes (Mariah) about her character's involvement in Sharon's mental crisis, working with Linden Ashby (Cameron) and what she'd like to see next in her character's marriage to Tessa.

Soap Opera Digest: What do you think of Sharon Case's (Sharon) current storyline? Camryn Grimes: I think it's incredible. Any opportunity where Sharon has to really showcase what she can do, especially when it involves her kind of having an [emotional] episode or going off of the deep end of sorts, is a great gift to the audience because she really just enjoys it so much and I think that makes it more pleasurable for the audience to watch; somebody who’s excited to come into work and try different things. Seeing her do her thing has been really fun. Digest: Sharon is so amazing at even giving that dead look in her eyes when her character is feeling out of it. Grimes: It's so funny to be on the end of that look. Something the audience doesn't realize is when they do a tag on Sharon and she's doing that look, that's for the audience, but there is an actor on the other end of that looking at her going, “And I'm supposed to think you're not a little off right now?!” It's just very funny. Digest: Are you glad that Mariah is figuring into this story? Grimes: Absolutely. I mean, I think Mariah and Sharon have built such a close relationship and especially with Mariah working at Cassidy First, it would be odd if she weren’t involved in it. She loves her mother and they're so involved and with everything that happened with Cameron and Faith, Mariah obviously wants to be a part of fixing it and helping. Digest: Mariah voicing her concern that being Cassie’s identical twin was compounding Sharon's grief added an interesting layer to this. Grimes: I thought that was such a great moment because to say that there wouldn't be parts of Mariah that felt a certain way about the mourning and the grief surrounded by Cassie's death would ring false. So, if her mother's hurting and in pain, there's got to be some feeling of like, “Okay, should I just go away?” Because there are moments where Mariah kind of feels like second best and this person is forever her sister who she feels grief over but she never knew her. She's sort of immortalized in a way and there's got to be such complicated emotions around that and especially in a period of time that Sharon is experiencing that grief [with fresh intensity], which I'm sure parents of children who passed do, because grief doesn't subside. It just changes, over time. Digest: Did you see the scenes where a young Cassie appeared to Sharon as an apparition? Grimes: I haven't seen any of them but my grandparents said, “We've got them recorded,” so I might watch them with [my son] Bridger and I think it would be interesting to see if he recognizes my voice now on television. I think it would be very sweet for my grandparents to watch a younger version of me with my son. Digest: Has it been fun to be in scenes with Linden Ashby (Cameron) because you have to act like you can't see him? Grimes: Oh, that's my favorite! I love doing stuff like that. It's a nice challenge as an actor; just not having your eyes, your body, your ears, nothing about you, attuned to the presence of another person. Even though I'm acting in the scene, I get to enjoy experiencing [Case and Ashby’s] interaction. Digest: In rehearsals, does Linden do anything like, “Hey guys, I'm right here!” Grimes: No, he's is so professional, and watching him and Sharon interact and get to play on the history of their characters but also have the discussion that he's not actually Cameron, he's her, they're really involved with it and they have a lot of discussions over how it should be played and it's rare that mediums do something like this, but we’re on a soap opera, so it’s great for us. Digest: Meanwhile, Mariah is filling in for Sharon at Cassidy First and supposedly doing a great job. Do you see this as a career she could settle into over the long run? Grimes: Who knows? She could go back to bartending in a month, you just never know. My only hope is that one day there's a company where she's actually pictured there in the office. Digest: Mariah and Tessa are in a happy place with Aria these days. Would you like to see something shake up their domestic calm? Grimes: I've always said this in interviews: limiting a married couple on the show to obstacles that only involve cheating or splitting up or getting back together, I think, is not always the strongest move, although it is compelling. And yes, we are on a soap opera, people will cheat and they will divorce and they will get back together. I think there are also very real stories that you can tell between people who are committed to each other and stay committed but struggle through something. I would always be welcome to any story that involves working with Cait [Fairbanks, Tessa], but I would always like to see something like, “Let's get creative and see what would test this couple, maybe without breaking them up.” That’s kind of what real life is. I've heard it from people who have been married for years, decades, that there are periods of time where you just don't like the other person, like you're just not getting along and not seeing eye to eye for whatever reason. I think that's very real and probably hard to navigate.