Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making Of “Ray”

The amazing Sharon Warren

In a cast full of stars, Sharon Warren still manages to stand out as one of the best performances in the film as Ray’s mother, Aretha. Though she was absolutely riveting in the role, she’d had no previous film or television work and no manager or agent when she auditioned. She told Jet magazine that she stumbled upon the role when she walked into an audition as she was doing a show at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre. She was the only actress they auditioned for the role. Warren said that her personal struggles, including being homeless for a time, prepared her for the role, saying: “Aretha wouldn’t have ever come out of me had I not discovered who Sharon is first.”  Ray Charles, who was very concerned about how his mother would be portrayed gave Warren his blessing when he saw a rough cut of the film before he passed. Unfortunately, Warren never got to meet Ray Charles and didn’t know he approved of her performance until after he passed.