SAG-AFTRA / AEA
Sharon Gardner
Sharon cracks up Kevin Hart while performing his character Snowball’s “Panda” rap from “Secret Life Of Pets 2”. After a long and rowdy day on set with the cast, including Regina Hall and Luis Gerardo Mendez, and writer/director John Hamburg (“Meet The Fockers”, “Zoolander”), it was time for a little child’s play. Coming to Netflix August 26th, 2022.
Obsessive-Complsuive Disorder traps millions of humans in torment. Writer, director, and editor Andy Cruz bravely excavates his own painful emotional past (please see below) to construct a story that will illuminate and resonate.
It's an honor to be playing Evelyn, a driven agent-of-change committed to healing her community one person at a time. We shot this film in 2021 and I’m happy it’s reaching the world now, when our society is attuned to the urgency of mental health as never before.
ABOVE: Sharon as social worker Evelyn at work in the jail system
I give special thanks to two incredible women, Sophie Jordan Brooks, MSW, and Victoria Goodman, LCSW, MSW, whose generous insight and expertise guided my performance as Evelyn, assigned to support our hero, Andrew, portrayed with vulnerability and power by Jamal Lloyd Johnson, former NY Jet and producer, whose partnership with Andy Cruz is bringing necessary new voices to the national conversation about diversity, justice, equality, and the health of our communities.
Just in time for Pride month, the Season 2 trailer was cut and screened in WeHo, L.A., and it was a hoot, a holler, and a heartache to glimpse our heroes Ray, Gary, and James journey through transformations that upturn their lives.
It has been an absolute delight to join the S.2 cast of the Humanitas Prize-winning black comedy “The Disappointments”, about 3 gay best friends in their late 50’s reconciling their personal dreams with the realities of their lives in Los Angeles. I’m on board as Rachel Payne, a TV producer and chic control freak who marches to the beat of her own restless timpani.
Here’s the trailer: wait for it!
To receive such a gracious welcome and work with these lovely and brilliant people has been a complete joy: E.P. Steve Cubine, writer, director, star, and E.P. Rich Burns, Gedde Watanabe, James Campbell, Trevor LaPaglia, Luke Grady, Chuck Saculla, Michael Corbett, Debbie Pollack, June Carryl, make-up genius Cheryl Calo, fabulous costume designer Cat Velosa, and the fantastic team of actors and crew. This show feels like perfect timing and I’m so grateful.
Backstage as TV producer Rachel Payne, ready to start the show
Grinning with Gedde! Gedde Watanabe (“Sixteen Candles”) is adorable as Gary, a former sitcom star.
In the Make-Up room with the brilliant June Carryl, who blazes as former TV star Lorena
Painting faces with fabulous Make-Up Artist Cheryl Calo
Behind The Scenes of "The Disappointments”
From Left: D.P. Jason Lange, Dir., Writer, E.P., & Actor Rich Burns (Ray), Gedde Watanabe (Gary), Michael Corbett (Philip), yours truly as Rachel Payne, Luca Uberti, Sound Mixer Troy Richert, and Debbie Pollack (Oksana).
With James Campbell, portraying ambitious real estate agent James
The gothic thriller "The Portrait”, starring Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Ryan Kwanten and Virginia Madsen, will have a top-secret screening next month and I can’t wait to see it.
In the vein of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture Of Dorian Grey” and the Henry James classic “The Turn Of The Screw”, this uncanny feature was shot at an estate steeped in the residue of faded glory, the 100-year-old Villa Narcissa, which is rumored to be “haunted” by an unhappy spirit. This chilling tale debuts in 2023 on a major streamer. British duo writer/producer David Griffiths and director Simon Ross create an eerie atmosphere which envelops this story in an uncanny beauty.
In keeping with the mystery, mum’s the word on my role.
Sharon on set and behind the scenes set photos
Sharon with Ron Yuan, Megan Lawless, and Tim Gabriel as a happy family on our final day on set.
BELOW: Between shots on set as “Angela"
Sharon wrapped post-production ADR on August 25th for this intense feminist thriller "The Death That Awaits" with Paul Johansson, Megan Lawless, Katya Martin, and Ron Yuan. I play Angela, a mother confounded by her daughter’s mysterious illness and trapped in emotional isolation by her own rigid commitment to keeping up appearances.Penned by Rachel Kiley and directed by the multi-talented Richard J. Lee, the movie centers on my on-set daughter Nina (Megan Lawless) and her caregiver Cassie (Katya Martin), as a transformation rips the family apart. This thriller is heading to festivals in 2023, and I’ll keep you posted so you can meet me at a screening near you!
Lunch break, family-style, with Sharon’s on-set daughter Megan Lawless and Megan’s real mom, also named Sharon!
RIGHT: 3/ 31/22: The Death That Awaits Wrap Party with on-set daughter Megan Lawless and Paul Johansson
BELOW: August 2022 - ADR post
Wrapped on Easter Sunday, 2022: 1st A.C. Adrian, D.P. Eduardo Whaite, writer/dir./actor Erika Apelgren, Sharon, and 1st A.D. Matthew Rodriguez.
Coming to the festival circuit 2022.
A Chekhovian short with a blend of comedy and pathos from Swedish writer/director Erika Apelgren and Venezuelan cinematographer Eduardo Whaite, “B.F.F.R.” centers on Angelica, a lonely tech entrepreneur who is a bit of Yin to the Yang of “Me Time”’s Delphine.
Finding herself isolated to the point of despair after a trauma in young adulthood leaves her shattered, Angelica makes one final attempt to forge an emotional connection with another human. Can she break the shell that’s kept her full humanity locked inside?
A film encompassing themes of body autonomy, the legacy of secrets, and the push-pull of mother-daughter relationships, Of Silence And Song follows a Chinese-American mother trying to celebrate her 8-year-old daughter's birthday while she navigates through a recent divorce and an unwanted pregnancy in Texas. I stepped into a character unlike any I’ve played before and had a great experience working with director Dai Leyi, Grace Mar, and Alex Jiang and her ace production team. Starring Kim Jiang Dubaniewicz and Lynne Bolen, this dramatic short will complete post in May ’23 and be followed by film festival screenings. I’ll keep you updated on the schedule.
On set with director Dai Leyi (center) and actor Grace Mar
OF SILENCE AND SONG BTS photos
A light moment with Grace on our day-for-night shoot
Heading to set as May, whose complicated personal journey brings her to support another woman on a very different path.
May passes through a stranger’s kitchen, circa 1969
A young lawyer and new father (charismatic Chance Perez) navigates between a tricky pro bono case and the Jr. Partner (yours truly) who manages him and her boss’ expectations for a rapid result.
Written with personal insight by two lawyers (Grace Hansen and Shuchi Dwivedi) and directed with nuance by Grant Swanson, this A.F.I. short, “Pro Bono” wrapped in January.
Filmed at the stunning Mountain View Mausoleum, the Spanish Revival edifice with Baroque and Neoclassical elements brought gravitas to the production values.
Set photos: On location as Patty in the halls of power at Parsons & Associates (left)
In the green room with Chance Perez (Brennan) and the radiant Loren Fenton (Leslie) between takes (left)
At the end of Day 1, with hero Chance and keen-eyed director Grant Swanson (right)