There's No Business Like Show Business
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Welcome everyone, I'm Jan Arden, coming to you from Vancouver, British Columbia, from the 12th floor of a hotel. And I have a towel wrapped around my shoulders because I have the air conditioning on. I just got out of bed. I had set the alarm so I didn't miss this because we pre-record this show because we never know.

Where in the world we're going to be. Once again, I am with Adam Karsh. He is in Toronto. Caitlin Green, yay, is slowly coming back to us. She is also in Toronto, Ontario. Welcome, Caitlin. Welcome, Adam. Good morning.

Good morning. Good morning. It's great to be here. I look forward to doing this every week. Oh, me too. I love this. Yeah. It's a great catch up with you guys. I find it very nourishing for my soul to catch up with you guys and see you guys every week. I love it. It's great. Yeah. It's been one of those things through COVID that has been, I have to say, and I mean this very earnestly, it's been a really important part of my routine. It's been...

I just really look forward to it. Like a couple of days before, I'm like, oh, good. I get to see you guys. So having you back with us, Caitlin, is like the extra added wonderful bonus of snippety-doo-dah. Because I can say, what did you guys do this week? And during COVID, those first few months, we were like, yeah, same.

Yeah, made some sourdough, wiped my cans off. I think cooking and watching things was sort of everyone's pastime for so long. Yeah, I have, I think I went through a big phase, I don't know about you guys, where I lost interest in cooking.

And I think it was because I kind of was on cooking and baking burnout from that being like a primary source of my to-do list when the lockdown was really serious. So it's been nice to mix it up a bit and like leave the house again. Oh my gosh. I think even I remember early days when,

getting pants on that didn't have an elastic waist. Hard pants. Yeah. Getting into my car and going to the Starbucks drive-thru. Starbucks, feel free to sponsor us if you'd like to. Going through that drive-thru,

rubber glove handing me the coffee that was sitting in a ceramic cup so they weren't touching it and then I would wipe the cup off in my car and I'd wipe the lid off and I felt like oh my god I just went through a drive-thru window and I have a cup of coffee that I didn't friggin make yep and I will say the mobile ordering system for Starbucks is incredible and they've it's

It's really stepped it up in COVID. And I think that's one of the things that will stay where I'll order my coffee in advance. And then I just pick it up at the little pickup window when you walk into the store. So you're not stuck in this big snaking line waiting for everything. I love that. I mean, in Toronto, the Starbucks lines that like really busy locations, like they can be confusing and you're in there for a while. And that is all gone. That is a thing of the past now because of the mobile ordering. So I want that to stay. I think there's going to be lots of things that stay Caitlin. Yeah.

I think the mobile ordering, I think there's going to be thousands of people that do their grocery orders online and pick them up.

So that's not for me solely because I got to touch stuff. I got to see it. I got to know what tomatoes in my, I am very particular about my tomatoes, what they feel like, you know, the color of them, the skin tone. And yeah, I am one of those people that are digging through the oranges. So you don't do click and collect and you don't do delivery for groceries? Nope. Nope.

Okay, because this is another thing where I started doing Instacart. And initially, we were doing our own pickup, but I switched to Instacart. And they give you a tally of how that is. Don't know what that is. Okay, so it's like a delivery system for any number of stores. Like, we frequently will pick Loblaws, but they also have deliveries from anything, like Walmart, even Toronto-specific ones, like Pusateri's, whatever. Costco, too. I've used it for Costco. Costco, too, exactly. Yeah, it's incredible. And...

And again, like in a place like Toronto, it can be a real pain in the butt to go grocery shopping. And Adam, you know, if you have kids, like you're buying a lot of food and taking them with you to the grocery store. My heart goes out to parents with two like eight year olds. I just watch them having meltdowns. But Instacart will do a tally of how many hours I've saved by using their service to deliver groceries to

hours saved from the grocery store. And I think I'm at like 76 or something like that hours of my life. And so that's why in my mind, I know that this is a, you know, a quote unquote frivolous expense because I don't need to, I could conceivably go do my own shopping. And I do at smaller boutiques. I buy from a lot of independent stores, especially for certain specialty items, but I love this service. It's great. And again, it is here to stay. I mean, I am not going back into a big box grocery store in person again, because,

If I can help it. I love Instacart. I've used it for Costco. And don't get me wrong. I used to, pre-pandemic, my Saturday morning routine, I would go to Costco and I'd browse and I'd have my little pep talk. Only buy what you need. Don't...

Don't come home with items you don't know. Oh, Adam, you kill me. There's no room. If you buy extra from Costco, you run out of space in your house because everything is such a huge size. So I would go to, and I was pretty good because I'd go once a week. It wasn't an enormous shop. I just got the weekly groceries and produce. Their produce is amazing and other things. But since I don't feel comfortable going in, as you called it, the big box stores these days, an Instacart,

They drop it off on your front porch. It's beautiful. It's so convenient. Yeah. Instacart. You can make substitutions. I was just going to say, I swear to everyone listening, we're not actually sponsored by them. And it's idiotic. It's idiotic to me that we're doing this for. I know. Stop talking about this right now. We're, we're dumb for doing this. Well, I can't get anything delivered to me. Nothing.

Nothing gets delivered to me. I live in a rural area. I just, that's the one thing I am jealous about is people that, oh, let's order pizza. Let's, so obviously I just make my own stuff. I just make it work. It's like that kid that

wants the real Cheerios and not the generic ones that your mother always buys. But that's a good trade-off, though, because you get things like visitors who are dear, and you get to see beautiful landscape out your window. And I have to wait for an elevator if I want to leave my place. No, I mean, there's absolutely trade-offs. But it's explaining to people, even when I've ordered something that I've

you know, want delivered out to my house. I do have an address. Like I have a street address. I have an actual thing, but I'm always explaining, Ben, you got to turn here and the GPS is going to take you across the river, but that's not where you want to be. And you got to go over by the golf course. And there's a gravel road that you're going to hit. That's half paved. And I swear to God, I've done it a thousand times. And so I I'm always even like panicked about, okay, Jan, if you get this delivered out here, you're going to have to explain how to get here.

And it's just too much from now. I get them delivered to my friend's house in the city, which is equally as crappy, but I'll just drive in and pick stuff up from, I don't know why I didn't start doing that years ago. Yeah. Just abuse your city friends. Oh, I will. Um, I wanted to talk a little bit just because I lost my dog. I didn't lose my dog. I, my dog passed away.

And I've had so many beautiful people that are just, you know, reached out and because they just knew Middy so well. And I had it for like 12 and a half years. And I just a lot of people have asked me what happened. And I'm the same way. Like what happened? And Caitlin, in a much, much bigger, vaster way said,

You and your husband and your entire family experienced those kinds of questions, the kind inquiries that can just level you with the loss of your son, Sam. And you kind of at one point just think, I've got to send a note out just to let everyone know it's much easier. Right.

But she had congestive heart failure. She's been on pills for the last year, like three different pills. She was so good about taking them. I'd crush them up in a little spoon and give them to her. And she knew what medicine, she knew the word medicine, and she immediately would sit down wherever she was. But anyway, I have such a brilliant vet. And I have to thank, you know, veterinarians everywhere. She said, Jan, this is going to happen. This is going to happen. And this is going to happen.

The pills will only hold her off so long. And she goes, when that starts happening, she goes, I don't want you to fool around. Please call me and bring her in. And so I just, I woke up, uh, she passed away on the third, but I woke up that night for a couple of days. She'd been breathing really quickly and she's just a tiny little five pound dog. And further to that, she'd been losing weight. When a five pound dog is losing weight, you really notice. So, uh,

The morning that I ended up taking her and she was just breathing and but her lungs were were really filling. They were liquidy. And I just I I just kind of panicked and

woke up my vet at six o'clock in the morning and drove her in, but it's just, it's just, it was heart failure. So for anyone that's asking about that, and it was such a privilege to spend time with that dog. It's all I can do to not cry, but for anyone that's mourning a pet, you go ahead and cry. And don't you worry about what anybody thinks. And don't you for one second, think that it's not big. This has been harder for me than losing my mom.

But she was so darling, 12 and a half years old. For all the other little dogs in the world that don't have such a great life, I would always ask, you've had the best time. But I couldn't have done it without my vet. I was there with her. I didn't think I could do it. I didn't think I could be with there and, you know, and stay in the room. But I did.

And I'm really proud of myself. And it's going to be a long time, but I'm definitely going to get another dog. I am not going to be without a dog. There's so many dogs that need homes. And it's not going to be for a few years, but famous last words, right? Exactly. You're getting a dog next week. But anyway, that's what happened. She had her little heart broken.

And when we weighed her that day, Judith weighed her, obviously, with the medications and stuff that they have to administer. And she'd lost half a pound. Anyway, I thank you for your kind messages, the flowers, the gifts, the cards, the outpouring. You've made me feel so much better. It's early days. But grief shared is a grief lesson. So thank you very much. It's the Jan Arden Podcast. We're going to cheer up. We're going to be right back, I think, talking about ex-boyfriends.

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Welcome back to the Jan Arden podcast. We have a special guest going to be joining us a little later on in the show. Sharon Taylor, who plays my ex-girlfriend Cynthia on the Jan show starting September the 27th at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on CTV television. Season three. Such a blast. Um,

And Sharon is terrific. So we're so happy that she's able to join us on the show today. One thing I wanted to talk to you guys about was we may have talked about this a bit before, but because it's sort of related to the show,

Is going back and dating someone that you've broken up with and six months goes by or a freaking year goes by or two years goes by and you suddenly think to yourself, oh gosh, this is a viable candidate for me.

This is something. I could hit that. They seem to have changed. They are wearing pants that aren't pleated. This person could be a very good match for me. Okay. Have you done it, Caitlin? I have.

I haven't since I was in my like 20s like early 20s and it was usually just the fact that it was a very um on and off relationship to begin with so and I wouldn't even have categorized it as like getting back together so you know like you know on Seinfeld they have like putty in the lane like they're always breaking up like that was our dynamic our dynamic was to almost never be together but not actually be apart so I did have some people in my life that were like that but no I'm not

really a big get back together with your ex kind of gal. I'm a very, I don't love nostalgia as a feeling. I'm not a fan of it. I don't like things that remind me of the past too much. I am a forward momentum kind of gal. So I haven't had that a lot. And I also don't really experience like missing exes.

Some people, they vote with their feet. It is over. But I find social media makes it very difficult to sever relationships that years ago, you would not see them for 10 years. You never heard about them. And now social media, I find people have a couple glasses of wine and suddenly they're feeling...

oh, I'm going to go find out where Steve is. Well, okay. So here's the unique thing though, for me is that I'm still, I'm, I'm very close friends with my longest relationship, my accent. So we've both since remarried. He has two children. Um, his wife is lovely and we're very, we're very good friends. And so like, you know, following like the loss of our son, they were a great support for us. Like,

his wife is like making a soup. Like, you know, when, when, when I was pregnant, they like lent us baby things, like we're close. And so then that I like, like, I have no problem staying friends with exes, but when that shift to like platonic happens, like I'm there for good. So, but I still like staying in touch with people who were at one point very important in my life. Like I still find myself rooting for them kind of from afar, even if I'm not. I think that's really important. I mean,

with any degree of maturity realizes when you wish...

ill on somebody else when you kind of want nothing to work out for them or you kind of seek revenge of some kind it just it's just in your body it does nothing to the other person you're re-traumatizing yourself every time you sort of think that way and feel that way so it's not good for you it's like I always feel like I'm like for selfish reasons we should all be a lot more forgiving not even really for other people but like for you it's a nice thing for you to get there

For your own physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Yeah, yeah. Forgiveness is not just a word that we, you know, toss around or that we see on inspirational posters. I think at the heart of what forgiveness is, and it is a word, but it encompasses so many things about our wellness. Yeah.

And that old cliche, it's not about them. It's about you. Forgiving is not, Oh, Adam, you did me wrong. I can't believe you, you borrowed my shoes and wore them in the rain. Nevermind that your feet are bigger than mine. That's right. Well,

people can be very petty. They, they will hang on to things for years that are so ridiculous when you say them out loud. Well, he borrowed my tractor and the belt broke on it and it was never replaced. The guy told me for six months he was going to replace the belt on that and there it sits. Yeah.

So for you guys then, and I guess because like we've said, social media makes it possible that we still stay up to date with somebody and you can DM them and you can reply to their stories. So it's a lot easier and it can become a slippery slope faster. So if you guys had any like,

desires or ever thought of going back with an ex? Or have you done that in the past prior to relationships that you're in? Like, have you thought, oh, try this again. They seem different. They seem nicer. Yeah, I did that once. This was years ago. We dated between 92 and 94. And then we broke up for three years and then dated between 97 and 98. And it just

So respectfully on both sides, I just think it wasn't our time. It was a very good relationship, very close, lots of love, but it wasn't our time. It just wasn't going to work. There was no violent breakup. It just, we parted ways. Did you expect things to be different when you went back? Obviously, as we get older, we feel like

we have all these skills that we didn't possess maybe when we were 25 and now we're 30 and we're different people. Was it different? It's hard to say. This was over 20 years ago. So I was, no, I know, but, but you're, you're going back to something after three years. Did you expect it to be like a completely different person or was it the comfort part of it? What was it?

I think we were a little more mature the second time around. I think it was better the second time around, but at the end it wasn't better. And the same thing started, it was the same, same thing started happening. And again, both parties wasn't one over the other. So I keep waiting for Jennifer Aniston and Brad. Yes. This is what I was just going to say. So,

So do you guys not find too, and I've seen this cause, okay, so big story in the week. And I don't know if you guys noticed this, but there's a comedian named John Mulaney. Yes. Do you guys follow him? Yes. So I've seen him. I've loved his comedy for a long time. I've seen him in person, Maryland, Dennis and I went to go see it together. We were together on the chat morning show. Um, and we went to go see him together when he was on tour with Pete Davidson and a big thing. Um,

with his standup was that he was a wife guy. He was married and he was happily married. He talked about how much he enjoyed being married for such a long time. And then he had a relapse. He was an addict. So he had a relapse, went into rehab. And when he came out, he got divorced, filed for divorce. And then all of a sudden gets together with Olivia Munn, who is a very, you know, talented, talented,

beautiful actress in LA and they get together real quick afterwards. And now they're, they just announced this week that she's expecting their first child together. Also part of his standup is that he was like, we're not, I'm not having children. I don't want to have children. This was back when he was still married and the outrage from so many of his fans because they were so invested in that celebrity relationship. And because he,

He made that part of his comedy and whatever. But I guess I'm seeing the word parasocial tossed around a lot on social media where everyone has these like unhealthy parasocial attachments to celebrities they don't know. And it reminded me of Brad and Angelina because like when they got together, everyone was so upset. People still hope him and Jen get back together. I don't know why. We don't know these people. I love it when you see a close up on

a celebrity magazine, whether it's Hello, they show the couple holding hands and then just to the right of that photograph, they have a magnified circle around hands holding and the index finger is slightly put over the knuckle, which indicates, then they have someone weighing in that's a professional indicating that the resting of that index finger on that particular knuckle speaks very highly of a rekindling of role. I mean, the crap that they produce.

Project. Well, and this is why like Jan, like you're a public figure. Like, you know, you, do you feel like it's, it's good for you? It has been good for you to keep your private life private. Oh, absolutely. I, um, I'm so private about my relationships, but you know, I've been single for five, almost six years. And, um, like, I mean, just not dating anybody. And I've never been more, um,

And I needed that break. And it hardly coincided with my sobriety. So, you know, maybe, you know, all the hookups that happen quite easily if you've had five or six drinks and then it should just be... Anyway, Adam's giving me the rolly fingers. I'm excited. I don't know if we'll have time to talk to Sharon Taylor about this, but we will certainly touch on relationships with her because...

The characters that we play in The Jan Show, we never seem to get it right. And maybe we'll get Sharon's take on that. You're listening to The Jan Arden Podcast. Stay tuned. Sharon Taylor from The Jan Show is up next. There's no business like show business. Like no business, I know. We are so excited today because a very dear friend of mine, a fellow actor,

Sharon Taylor, who plays my ex-girlfriend on The Jan Show, joins us today from Vancouver. Sharon is so busy all the time, working, being. Her Instagram is freaking fantastic. If you ever want to see the most beautiful outdoor scenes and canoeing and running, and I'll tell you what, you do not want to fight Sharon Taylor because she will break you in half. And I also always want to bring her with me because she can protect me. She's one of the most fit, strong people.

vital, talented, fierce women I know. And we're so thrilled to have her with me today. And, you know, if this was real life, Sharon, I'm telling you what, you could never get rid of me. I don't ever want to get rid of you, Jan. You're stuck with me forever. Oh my gosh. Sharon plays, while she is an incredible actor, lives in Vancouver. She plays TB Jan's ex-girlfriend.

Cynthia and oh my god Sharon we have so much fun we have so much fun so much fun doing this couple because they are something else tell me about how your experience has been so far on the Jan show because our premiere is coming up September 27th 8 p.m eastern standard time on CTV don't forget to tune in

Right. Please don't forget. You won't regret it. So actually, it's a funny thing is, is that I'm usually murdering people or arrest or arresting people on TV.

So when I got cast in a comedy, I thought, do they have the right person? And so, so then, but then we jump on set and it was just so much fun and so easy and you make it so easy. And then, so it was actually a real honor to this year. I won a Leo award. Yeah. For best performance in a comedy. And I would have never thought that like me of all people would win an award for a comedy. Yeah.

But Karen, you're so... I think what dramatic actors forget sometimes is that their humor even comes out in their drama stuff without them knowing. I think writers have the ability to even make the most dire situations. They need to let the viewer off the hook. So I think you're a lot funnier than you think you are.

And I think a lot of funny, dark, I don't know, the sardonic humor comes out when you guys do drama. I saw you very briefly in a series on Apple TV called Sea.

With Jason... Momoa. Momoa. And like you said, you were out slaughtering and killing and doing an action movie. And I kept looking at you going, there's Cynthia. She's out there murdering people. But it wasn't you. The ability to morph into...

such a completely different world and character. It really amazes me. And I've seen you in quite a few things now, Sharon. And you're just, you're so fascinating because you're fricking good at what you do. You're wonderful. Yeah.

Well, I'm just honored to be included in, you know, you're wonderful at what you do. So that brings me to actually a question for you. So now that you are in the acting world and you have all these actor friends, can you watch us without seeing your friend? Or do you, I mean, you kind of touched on it right there, or do you actually, um,

Can you go into that suspension of disbelief and not see your friend anymore when you watch a show? That's a good question. I'll tell you what happened to me a little bit, Sharon, initially was, you know, when I first got on the set, all the blocking and the cameras and the lighting and learning the lines and everything. I think for the first few months of watching any of my favorite television shows, I kept picturing the camera crews. I kept picturing the boom mic above their heads. I'm like, oh, my God.

has television and film been room for me for the rest of time? And it's exactly just that you forget and you go into these worlds and there's no camera people and there's no lighting and there's no clever angles where the, where the microphones are strapped to the inside of your leg and tucked into a boot. And the microphone is up the spine of your back and plastered into your hair. Like you do forget. Um,

And I am really on this learning curve. I'm just learning and working with people such as yourself, Deborah Grover, who plays my mother, Nora, Zoe Palmer, Patrick Gilmore, Alina Watko. I mean, all these people, I just look at you guys and I'm dazzled by what you bring to the table. And so I've spent the last couple of years watching your every move. And of course, I'm nervous because you and I are playing a same-sex couple and

And I remember the first day you came on set, you and I had to pose for this really cutesy, intimate picture that, hi Sharon, hi Jan, nice to see you again. Because we'd met each other for about 15 hot minutes in Vancouver at a chemistry reading. Because I knew that I wanted you to play this part. Your tape and your audition was so fabulous. Yes.

But here we are, we're like wrapped around each other, getting these pictures taken so that they could stick it in a frame and put it on the set. Yes. And I mean, imagine we had to do a love scene on our first day. Sometimes that happens to actors too, right? They'd meet each other for the first time and they have to start kissing. But you just made it so easy. And I remember the end, like just, you just looked at me and you said, okay, what,

what do you want to do? Like, how do you want to do this? Okay. You stay still. I'm just going to lean in and I'm going to kiss you. You don't have to do anything. So we're just in our scene and just so that we don't have to move around. And I kind of catch you by surprise by giving you a kiss in the hallway of the hospital. And so you just, and Sharon, you have no frigging idea. Can you imagine Adam? Can you imagine like standing there, but Sharon and I, maybe I looked like so scared and,

maybe I look like, oh yeah, she's going to go down. She does not look like she's going to make it through this scene. I love that scene. I love that kiss. I love the sound design in that moment, the way the sound designer just made it just so, it just sounded kind of magical and special. And it was almost like you could hear your character's heartbeat in that moment. And even though I obviously had read the script and I performed the moment,

watching it on TV, I still got goosebumps. And I've, I've had a few people come up to me and say how much that kiss meant to them, you know, watching that on television. And I thought that was a real honor. I, it is. And I, and I don't take these things lightly. I think going into the show, it was, it was really important to cast someone that I really could, um,

Just find that ease with and the thing about our characters, we could not be Cynthia and Jan couldn't be further apart. You are this lawyer, you're this professional. I don't there's a line that you have, I think in season one where you're like, it's like dating a 15 year old boy.

And it always makes me laugh because I am so, I would be a nightmare for anybody to date. That TV, that character that I'm, you know, trying to play is such a ding dong. Well, I've dated a lot of ding dongs in my life. So I had a lot to like draw from in my, in my personal life. It's exciting that season three is coming up. And once again, our characters find ourselves in,

kind of on the outside looking in at each other once again with this kind of longing you're I always think of um Carrie and Mr. Big and Sex in the City I know that's a bit of a stretch but it just seems like you and I never seem to find I think our our fans are cheering us on they want to see us together but we can't seem to get organized no and that was actually one that was the couple that kind of stuck out in my mind too because when I watch Sex in the City I like they I

I wanted them to get together, but then, you know, that show went years and years with them never figuring it out. So I mean, who knows what's going to happen with Jan and Cynthia, but I love, I love that, that they, they can't get it together because that's kind of real life too. Sometimes relationships are a bit of a mess and you struggle and you love each other, but then you can't be together. So, so have you ever found yourself, you know, in re in your real life, Sharon being in relationships and going back to

to that man that, you know, going like you break up. Um, I'm guilty as charged a little bit. I feel like I have kind of,

gone two steps forward and then ended back up where I was. Have you, have you done that in your own life? Oh yeah. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. But actually I made a conscious choice a couple of years ago. I was like, I'm not going to do that anymore. I am going to change the way I proceed in my relationships because as, um, as comforting it is to sometimes go back to the same person over and over at the end of the day, you're just chipping away pieces out of your heart sometimes. Um,

And especially if you know rationally that they're not healthy and it's not good for you. So in other instances, I have seen it work with other people where they do get back together numerous times. And it happened to my cousin, you know, broke up with her partner and then, you know, years later, get back together. And then it was like, they're just madly in love and two kids later. So didn't Elizabeth Taylor divorce? Um, God, now even a Burton.

And they remarried again later on in life. Yeah. They remarried. Yeah. Richard Burton. So they were these drinking. They just had this tumultuous relationship. Then they each had like three or four marriages in between. I'm not kidding you. And then she remarried Richard again. That always blows my mind. I'm thinking, are you expecting to literally have a different person? It's amazing what we'll do.

to have something familiar. And I have long said, there's nothing quite like having someone that knows you know, that to me is intimacy. If someone knows you, and I think that's what our characters are like. They know each other. You don't give a crap that Jan is famous or has this music career. You don't care.

And I think there's a real comfort and there's a real honor in having someone that you let inside of that wall. Well, I certainly hope that the audience is root for Jan and Cynthia because I

That is probably exactly why the reason why they keep coming back together. They, they genuinely love each other. And especially for someone like Jan, who's kind of all over the place, it is kind of, it would be comforting to have that one person that knows you and just loves you for no matter what. Well, not to give anything away and we're going to come back after this break, but you and I find ourselves in a bit of a throuple.

And there's an additional young man that comes into the scene this season that really throws kind of the hopes of rekindling our relationship. People really are not going to know what's happening with us this season. Don't go away. I'm talking to Sharon Taylor. She's in Vancouver. I'm in Vancouver. And you're listening to the Janard Podcast. We'll be right back. ♪ Get your motor running ♪ ♪ Head out on the highway ♪

Welcome back to the Jan Arden Podcast. We are here with the fabulous Sharon Taylor. Sharon, tell me a little bit about your Instagram feed because you are so great to follow. You know how people curate these social media things and you're like, is that even a real life? You know, people on yachts with Prosecco. And the thing I love about your feed is there's this

adventure, this reality, this living of life, the motorcycles, the outdoor, the nature, the, you find yourself, you've had quite the summer.

I really have. And you know, you will always find me outside. I like to be outside. I like to be in the woods. I go, I'm going for a hike. Um, later on this afternoon, I being outside is really important to me. My family is a boat family. So my family has boats. I'm either like on a boat, on a motorcycle in the woods. That's where you'll find me. Um, where, where do you hike around here? Like, are you one of those people that does the grouse grind and 14 minutes? Yeah.

No, I absolutely hate the gross grind. I just like going straight up a hill, going upstairs. Tell people what that is.

So if you've ever been to Vancouver, there's a hike called the Grouse Grind. It goes straight up the front side of Grouse Mountain. And it kind of slightly runs underneath the gondola, which normal people will take the gondola up. But the real hardcore is they want to go straight up this giant staircase. And it's grueling. And you do end up just staring at someone else's bum the whole way up because you're just going up the stairs, right? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Well, it depends who's in front of you, I guess. Right. But for me, no, I like to be like deep in the woods. I like to be like along winding paths, ups and downs, exploring rivers and lakes and like deep in the woods. I like that. Well, it's at Sharon. No, what Sharon was here.

Well, it's kind of a pun because I love puns. So my Instagram handle is Sharon Twas Here, which is actually Sharon T was here. Sharon Twas Here. So just the way that sounds and it's well worth it. And you got to tell me about the motorcycle stuff because, you know, this is my neighbor got in a motorcycle accident this year. And the first person I thought about was you.

He's okay, but he smashed his hip. He broke ribs. He smashed his shoulder blade. And, you know, here's this 60-plus-year-old guy that the first day he takes his motorcycle out this summer, he hits a piece of gravel on his hog,

and flies into the ditch. You didn't even hit another car, but I'm just like, oh, Sharon Taylor. It's true. There is a lot of risk riding a motorcycle. I do wear all the protective gear though. I mean, obviously I have like a beautiful helmet and I wear all the padding. Like my leather jacket has the padding. My pants have the knee padding and the hip padding. So if you fall, like your hips and knees are protected. Yeah.

I actually, so I ride with a really great group of people and anyone who has seen groups of people riding motorcycles together, it's very like loud and intimidating sometimes, but motorcycle people are a really interesting breed of humans because they're

Like we have this group of friends and we'll stop at a coffee shop and other motorcyclists will come in and they'll be like, who's, oh, you guys, are those yours? Oh, let's exchange numbers. I want to ride with you guys. So we make friends wherever we go. So we have this group text of like probably like 20 people and half of them we just like –

we've just met on the road and we go for rides and then we go for long rides out to Langley and go for lunch and then come back or go up to Squamish and come back. So we kind of do a different type of riding. It's very social.

And we stay in formation the whole time, like in staggered formation. And I feel quite safe when you're in that staggered formation. And sometimes like when it's so warm out and the wind is just blowing and it's so warm and your hair is gone, I just feel like I'm Beyonce. I'm like formation, formation. Well, I think it's just that juxtaposition. And I think it's probably everybody's dream just to have that kind of freedom.

to be on a motorcycle that I could never do it. I mean, I'm just, I'm not strong enough. I'm very intimidated. I remember having a Honda 50 when I was like 16 years old that we would ride out in the field. And that was about, you know, the top speed of 20 miles an hour. But, you know, I, what, what, what got you into that? Have you always been a motorcycle person?

Yeah. So when I was 18, I really liked the sport bikes and all the, like some of the kids in my school, grade 12 in school, like they had like the sport bikes and I was like, Ooh, I want a sport bike. But then my mom was like, no, no, you're not doing that. So, uh,

But then as I got older, it's just something I always wanted to do. And then so I just one day tried it and I was like, oh, I really like this. And I really like the community and the friends that I've made. What kind of motorcycle is that that you're riding on your Instagram? I'm looking at it. It's quite fancy. Yeah, it's a Harley Davidson. It is a Harley Davidson. Sportster. Yeah, Sportster. Sportsters are great for women too because they're a little bit lower. And just the way they're set up, like women can –

women can handle them a little easier. Not that women can't do stuff that guys can't do, but it's just our bodies are not as big sometimes. But listen, I have sat on a motorcycle like that with on the kickstand. The weight is unbelievable. So they, they,

They talk about if you, you know, if your bike goes over and if you are not able to pick that bike and ride it up, you should not be riding. That's not the size of bike for you. Is there any truth to that? No, unfortunately. Like, I mean, that would be true for like dirt bikes and stuff. But for street bikes like this, they weigh about 500 pounds. Right. So most people can't pick that up. So what do you do if you go over then? You just get help?

Yeah, help. Yeah. Okay. Friends, they dump bike, like had to dump their bike and then just like strangers on the sidewalk just help them pick it up and off they go again. I mean, it sounds crazy, but. No, it doesn't. Has there been any, do you think your physicality, you also have a martial arts background. You're very well skilled in that. Like you do a lot of your own fighting stunt stuff. Do you think that has been helpful?

helpful getting parts. Yeah, it really, I mean, it really has. And one of my first moments on set was back in Stargate Atlantis. And one of the producers one day we're just chatting and he was like, what do you do for fun in your free time? And I said, Oh, I have my second degree black belt in karate and I teach kickboxing. And so he's like,

He's like, oh, interesting, interesting. And like, honestly, the very next script, my character was like fighting an alien with Jason Momoa. And I was, it was my first time to do something. And then since then, I've been cast as like assassins and people that do that.

How has it been during COVID with the audition process? I would imagine normally you guys do find yourself sitting in the little chairs in the casting office and going in and doing your reads in front of human beings. But everyone has been sort of doing these reads at home, having your mother read the other part or your neighbor or like, here, read the part of the burglar. And how has that been? Yeah, actually, my mom reads with me a lot. Oh!

but, um, but I love it. I love taping the auditions in my living room here because I can kind of like play with the scene and do it a bunch of times and then send the tape that I think is best. But, but I'm at an advantage just because I'm, you know, been around for so long and I, you know, and I, and I kind of make very clear choices in my auditions, but I, I,

I would imagine that a younger actor would find it quite daunting because they don't have the feedback from the casting directors or the directors. So like they're not getting any direction. So they're just kind of guessing at potentially what the character would be or what the director might want and then throw it out there. But for myself, I feel like, uh, I just feel like I read a script sometimes and I go, Oh, I know what this is. They want Kate Winslet in the Titanic. I'll do that.

you know, I can, in some ways I sort of feel that there's not always a new idea in a lot of these like pilots and scripts that I get sent. And so I can kind of go, Oh, they got this idea from that show, that show. So I'll just put a little flavor of that in there. I love that. Um, just before we let you go here, I want to talk to you about, uh, Sharon, you know, the 10 year old going to school. What was in your school lunch, Sharon? Um,

Oh my goodness. It was before it was peanut butter sandwich always because like it was before everybody was allergic to peanuts or maybe they were allergic to peanuts and who, and we just took crazier chances back then, but peanut butter sandwich.

What's yours? Peanut butter salmon. Oh, my God. Well, there's no end to what my mother tried to send us. One of my most popular things that I've talked about on this show is a wiener in a thermos of hot water that absorbed all the hot water, and I couldn't get the wiener out, so I kind of picked it out with my HB, very fat red pencil. Anyway, I ate it on my bun anyway, but I can't thank you enough.

What a way to end our segment is me talking about a wiener and a thermos. I'm so sorry, all our listeners. Sharon Taylor, you just dazzle me all the time. I look forward to season 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. And I really encourage people September the 27th at 8 p.m. Eastern on CTV to watch The Jan Show. Sharon is fantastic as usual. Our relationship continues to unfold constantly.

We can't tell you what happens, but there's some real unfoldings that you're going to want to tune in for. Sharon, thank you so much. Thanks, Jan. It's so easy to be in love with you on TV and outside of TV. Thank you so much for being with us, Sharon. I love you. And don't forget to have a great time, everybody. And we'll see you next week. Toodle-oo-doo.

This podcast is distributed by the Women in Media Podcast Network. Find out more at womeninmedia.network.