Welcome to episode 2 of ‘What Would Sharon Raydor Do?‘, the podcast devoted to getting an in-depth view at Major Crimes Captain Sharon Raydor by the woman who knows her best, Mary McDonnell.
We will be including a few listener questions on the podcast each week – ask your questions below, or tweet them to us @MaryMcDonnell10 and @MajorCrimesTV using hashtag #WWSRD, and listen next week to see if your question has been answered!
great moving inspirational and open and true to listen to.
Why don’t we see Sharon without her glasses? Also, why are all of Sharon and Andy’s important relationship moments off screen? The conversation when they admit their feelings, their first official date and their first kiss, all off screen. I know time is limited, but these are the big milestones fans look forward to seeing, especially after waiting four years.
We know so little about Sharon. It would be fantastic if she was fleshed out a bit more for us.
What are Sharon’s guilty pleasures…food, TV, music?
What does she do to unwind with her girlfriends?
Mary’s insights into Captain Raydor’s character, so thoughtfully and eloquently expressed, serve beautifully to better illuminate Sharon’s personal and professional motivations. I feel closer to Sharon, more invested in her, for having listened to this.
Thank you to majorecrimestv.net for conducting these interviews, and to Mary for so graciously participating. We fans of Major Crimes greatly appreciate your efforts.
Q for #WWSRD:
Hi, thank you for doing these wonderfully insightful podcasts!
I guess, building off of previous answer(s) – particularly this week’s mention of Sharon and female friendship (which I would ALSO love to see – alongside more of her with Emily) – I’ve wanted to and have hoped to ask for a while now about Sharon and Amy.
Kearran has done an amazing job playing Amy’s amazing growth from all too eager to please “rookie” in season 1 to being an integral, professional, intelligent, and competent member of the team – as I’m sure she always was and had been but needed time to manifest..
And my question is this: I’ve always wondered a bit at the perhaps “behind the scenes” mentorship that may exist/occur between Sharon and Amy? Sharon has always been such a figure of a feminist and firmly in support of other women that I wonder: has there been more explicit and active moments that we haven’t seen where Sharon has reached out to Amy to mentor her? Or has it been always a more passive mentorship: acting as a role model that Amy has been able to observe and use to guide her own development and ambitions? Has it ever been under discussion between you and Kearran?
Obviously, Sharon has always supported Amy in the ways she has supported other members of her team on the show (strict but fair and always ready to listen) – both recently in “Hindsight” when she readily accepts and somewhat approves of Amy’s independent work and the steps she took to document everything and from even longer ago, when she was one of the people who most readily accepted Amy’s gut instinct in “Letting It Go” in not accepting the initial confession at face value because of Amy’s expertise, but I wonder if Sharon ever made a conscious decision to take Amy under her wing of sorts – even if it wasn’t the initial reason why she brought her into Major Crimes in Season 1.
Thank you again!
Fabulous podcast! Thanks much! Means a lot to know Sharon Raydor’s background & motivations! Two questions –
Who has been the most influential person in Sharon Raydor’s life & does Sharon hope to be that same type of person for Rusty?
If Jack stopped drinking & gambling & committed to AA would Sharon let him attend family holidays & functions?
What will sharon do if she sees Andy’s letter that he wrote in the 4 season?
Hi MajorCrimesTV and Mary!! I love your podcasts because the questions are always on point and Mary’s answers always give excepcional info on Sharon. I love listening to her.
My question: What could lead Sharon to the edge? What could make her lose control? She’s always so level-headed, so I wonder if there is anything at all that could make her lose that eternal control and how would she and the others react to that.
Thank you again for giving us a weekly gift! Cheers!
Question: We know about the challenges of turning Sharon from an antagonist into the protagonist, but what did the change from Internal Affairs to Major Crimes mean for Sharon herself? Would it have been a difficult transition or just a relief to not have to investigate her fellow officers anymore?
Dear Mary, thx for doing this! It’s very special to listen to and i always love to listen to you. And your words are also about real life i think. Its very educational.
but maybe we get to see some fire between you haha i hope you understand what I mean it’s difficult to say what I think in a different language; ) you are the best and love Major Crimes! Greetings, Didi /Diana
it helps to get to know Sharon more because we don’t see that much of her personal life on TV. My question is; is Andy not to sweet for her now? I know an indipendant woman like her with such an important job has a strong character, so it seems he likes everything she wants , says and does… doesn’t she need more counteracting ?? If I look to myself if I don’t get some counteract I feel the “man” in relationship because i have to make all the discissions , I want to be on the same level. I think i miss a bit of the fire and tough Tony who he was in the Closer, although I get it that he is older and wiser
We often see Sharon and Andy exchange small touches in episodes. More often than not, its their hands touching. Such as in the season 2 finale, the hand holding at Marianna’s (Alice) burial and when Andy moves in with Sharon while he recuperated. Were these touches written in the script or is something that you and Tony decided upon for your characters?
#WWSRD Where does Sharon see herself in 10 yrs, did she ever imagine she would finish out her career outside of IA?
Loving the podcast! Thanks!
Here my questions:
Do you think that Andy’s past with addiction is one of the reasons why Shandy is moving slowly? Or is this not really an issue? Love the slow burn btw!
What do you think would need to happen in order for Sharon to completely lose it?
Which of the scenes in Major Crimes did demand the most of you as an actress?
Sharon seems to have an appreciation for dance and art, which it depicted in various forms around Sharon’s condo, office and even her teacups. It has also been mentioned that she loves football. Do you think Sharon’s appreciation for dance, art and sports has to do with her own background and experiences or was it something she acquired through her kids participation in these such activities? Also, what do you think Sharon’s other interests are?
Question for #WWSRD:
In the previous podcast Mary talked about how she thinks that Sharon must have had a lot of support from women in her life that brought her to her current position in power. How do you think does this co-relate with her working relationship and attitude towards Brenda Leigh Johnson in The Closer considering that both of them are women in power. And should there be a chance for Kyra to be a guest in Major Crimes, how do you think will these two characters interact in a very similar yet very different situations.