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 After a nearly five-season courtship, the very slow-burn relationship between Andy Flynn and Sharon Raydor hit a milestone last week, when after a series of near-miss attempts, Andy finally proposed to Sharon. As the episode faded-to-black, fans were left with a lot of questions, most notably…. did she say yes?

We spoke with Tony Denison to try and find out the answer to that, as well as his feelings about the Flynn/Raydor relationship, the changes his character has undergone this season, and how that’s affected him as an actor, as well as the scoop on the new project he’s been working on during his hiatus.

MajorCrimesTV: So, before I go any further, the question everyone is asking is, what happened? Did she say yes? 

Tony Denison: Well, I’m not allowed to say… But apparently there’s unintentional hints out there. So if people are observant, they might see something. If not, maybe they don’t see, or they see the absence of something. But they’ll have to watch (tonight) and see what happens.

MCTV: Ah, I see. Well, a little bit of suspense is healthy for us all. After five seasons to get here, we can’t have the answer in one episode–that’d be too easy!

TD: Exactly. I agree.

MCTV: But it was very exciting! What was it like for you, getting to this point in the characters relationship and filming that proposal scene?

TD: It was great! I enjoy every moment of screen time that I get to work with Mary, especially when it’s one-on-one scenes, so that was really cool, because we got a little bit of the payoff of what’s been going on. And as we move forward, people will see where it goes, and as far as what happens this next season that we’re about to start filming in few months, I don’t really know what happens, to be honest with you. I just know that according to James, it’s going to be a good season.

MCTV: The whole proposal scene was done a little differently than a lot of the show, in that we saw Flynn proposing, but there was no dialogue.  A lot of the fans have been asking, was there more to that scene when you shot it?

TD: There was never dialogue. When I say my last line, after I close the sliding door, at that point, it’s all silence from there on and we don’t say a word. I just take it out of my pocket and then I do what I did. And that’s how it ends. I mean there may have been different camera angles that were shot, but those are the ones that they showed, and there wasn’t anything more than that.

MCTV: Andy has had a lot of health issues in this last year, and a lot of changes in his life. How has he, or has he changed, from experiencing all that, and is that part of the reason he’s kind of gone from this confirmed bachelor to proposing to Sharon? 

TD: Well, I don’t know. Andy’s going through a lot of changes. And there’s a couple of payoffs in this season that are exciting, I have to admit, that happen in terms of how Andy is – his health issues and all that stuff. So I don’t want to give away too much but he’s really enjoying this relationship. I mean, I’m enjoying it because I love working with Mary, and so as an actor and as a character I’m having a lot of fun.

MCTV: It seems that your role has changed a bit this year. All these seasons on The Closer and then for most of Major Crimes,  Andy’s always been “The Cop” and that’s been so much of the role, in terms of being part of the team solving crimes and dealing with suspects. And now with these health issues, that’s shifted, and he’s not out with the team as much, he’s in the office with Sharon. How has that been for you as an actor, to have the role you’ve played for many years undergo this big change?

TD: I’m glad you asked that question. It has been strange. It’s been a really interesting adjustment because Andy has gone through a lot of different things over the years. It started out, he was the nemesis to Kyra’s character, and then they joined forces, and became part of the squad, and then she left and then he was at odds with Raydor early on, and then when she took over the squad they instantly hit it off as co-workers and then it became…I guess the natural extension was for us to hit it off as a man and a woman.

Those changes, as an actor, to get the opportunity to keep playing stuff like that, is great. And that’s the joy of television vs. doing feature films. You do feature films and you get two hours of action-packed fun, you do your character, and your character has his journey, and then the movie’s over and you wind up with all these things you’d like to explore beyond what’s written, and hopefully you’ll get a sequel in a movie and a chance for a bit of that. But in a TV series, the sequel occurs every week. And you get the opportunity to continually explore into different things for the character. And I like that. As an actor, I like that a lot.

MCTV: I can see how it would be very rewarding to be able to continue with, and grow with the character for many years. Another thing I’ve seen a lot of fans commenting about in terms of the storyline between Sharon and Andy is that so much of the development of their relationship has tended to happen off-screen. Is that frustrating to you, or are you satisfied with how the development of their relationship has been portrayed on screen?

TD: I think leaving it up to the imagination is good for us. It’s good for me. I mean, no matter which way it’s done, the fans are clamoring for more of whatever they get, you know? Which is really great. And more than that, the cast, we’re all part of the – I say this a lot because it’s true, for me anyway, but we’re all part of the same team. And it’s great when someone on your team hits a home run and wins the game even if you’re not on base or you didn’t score. You all celebrate the victory. So, the way the show is structured now, [James Duff]is trying to give everybody their home life moments, and to do that, means we can’t follow any one relationship or person that much. And he’s doing a good job trying to satisfy that aspect of the show. But I think at the end of the day, I have no complaints about the work that I get to do with Mary, and there’s also going be some more stuff coming up with G.W. again, which I know a lot of fans miss.

MCTV: Oh, great! We’re looking forward to that!

TD: So that’s going to be happening again. And for me, I don’t ever ask what’s going on, or what’s going to happen to my character. When I get the scripts and read them, I’m like “Oh! Okay, cool.” And that’s it. I don’t question things or want to complain about having more or less to do. It’s not my job.

Now, if they, or come over and say, “Hey, listen, are you happy with the script?” At that point, I might turn around and say “Well, you know, I was wondering is it possible for this to happen or that to happen?” And a lot of times, James is very accommodating to me. We have a good collaborative effort on a lot of that stuff. But for the most part, one thing’s sure, he knows I don’t knock on his door up at the office and say “Hey, you know, I was wondering…?” I don’t do that. So I’m happy with what is written, and what I’ve gotten to do, and how we’ve told this story.

MCTV: You’re filming a new movie right now. Can you tell us about that?

TD: I just finished. It’s called “Agent Emerson” and a virtual reality movie. They needed me for two days and I had some really good stuff to do, and it’s an interesting–and I really highlight the word and underline the word and quotation mark the word “interesting” project. I’ve not ever done anything like that before, in terms of how the camera works. It’s not your typical 3-D, it’s not your typical virtual reality, it’s incredibly immersive. It was pretty cool, and I’m excited for it. People are going to have a ball watching this thing.

MCTV: Well, we look forward to seeing it. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us, Tony. We always look forward to chatting with you.

TD: My pleasure!

Major Crimes is all new tonight at 9PM/8C on TNT.