Once Upon A Time was a show full of magic, fairytale characters, incredible storytelling, and most importantly, true love. While they may have had ups and downs throughout the series’ seven-season run, they still created a world we were all lucky to be a part of each week.
What happens behind the scenes of a television show can sometimes be even more interesting than the show itself, we have come to learn. Whether it’s love blossoming on set, feuds between co-stars, or explanations of easter eggs you never noticed before, there are interesting tidbits of information about the making of this incredible show you never would have thought of before.
For all the Oncers still out there after the show’s fairytale end last year, here are the 10 Secrets Behind The Making Of Once Upon A Time.
Prince Charming Was Supposed To Stay Dead After The Pilot
Co-creators Kitsis and Horowitz revealed that they had originally put in the draft of the pilot of Once Upon A Time that Prince Charming actually died from the apparently fatal stab wound he received while saving his daughter. When he died in the pilot, he was meant to stay that way for the rest of the series.
Of course, they later realized his importance to the show and instead had him land in the hospital in a coma when he went to the land without magic instead. This was a fantastic change of plans for the show because he played a pivotal role in Emma Swan’s journey and life.
Co-Stars Jennifer Morrison And Lana Parilla Allegedly Feuded
It is completely understandable that when making a television show, not every co-star will get along with one another. They simply have to find a way to tolerate each other.
The same was the case for stars of Once, Jennifer Morrison and Lana Parilla. It was long-rumored and almost well-known knowledge amongst the fanbase that the two were not on good terms. The two rarely did joint interviews or were photographed side-by-side together and even used body doubles in a lot of scenes with the other instead of doing the scenes together. The irony of their characters feud on the show is not lost on us.
Josh Dallas And Ginnifer Goodwin Fell In Love On Set
Snow White and Prince Charming, played by Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas, are the epitome of true love in the Once Upon A Time universe. They even are the reason for the start of the events that unfold from the very first episode.
In real life, Goodwin and Dallas fell just as head over heels in love with one another as their characters did on the show. While initially the two were attached to other people, they found love with each other and are now happily married with two children of their own. Talk about a fairytale ending.
Hook Was Meant To Be A Part Of The Show From Day One
It’s safe to say that Captain Hook was one of the most enthralling—and charming—characters on the entire show. Played by Colin O’Donoghue, he immediately drew you in even when he was more villain than hero. Eventually, he did earn his hero status, which was the intention of co-creators Kitsis and Horowitz, and even found true love with none other than our heroine, Emma Swan.
That was always the plan for the creators, but they had a difficult time acquiring the rights to J.M. Barrie’s character. Even though they wanted him to be a part of the original cast in season 1, they finally were able to introduce him in season 2. We couldn’t imagine the show without him, now.
Lana Parilla Had The Writers Change Regina’s Storyline With Henry
In a somewhat controversial move, star Lana Parilla, who plays the Evil Queen/Regina, decided that she needed to go to the writers and have them change the course of Regina’s relationship with her adopted son, Henry.
It was rather confusing when they changed Regina into a hero after two seasons of villainy, and even more confusing was the fact that she developed a close relationship with her illegitimately adopted son, Henry. In the first two seasons, she emotionally manipulated him, wipes his memories, and even suspends him in the air with tree vines. Parilla’s want to show a healthy adoptive relationship made the storyline completely muddled and downright confusing to viewers.
Lady Gaga Could Have Been On The Show
The Blue Fairy on Once Upon A Time was always a bit of an enigma to both the characters and the fanbase of the show. She always seemed sketchy in the sense of you never truly knew what her motives were in helping our heroes.
When writing and casting the role of the character, creators of the show were hoping for a specific musician in music to take on the shifty fairy. That musician? Mega pop-star Lady Gaga. They reached out to her management to offer her the role but never heard back. Truthfully, they weren’t even sure she received the offer, in the end.
Sean Maguire Wasn’t Happy With Robin Hood’s Ending
Once Upon A Time was a fantastic show in a lot of ways, but where it lacked was equal focus on their ensemble cast of characters. They had trouble shifting the focus too frequently to the point where certain characters became forgotten.
A perfect example would have to be Robin Hood. Sean Maguire, who played the archer on Once, expressed his unease and was less-than-thrilled with his characters’ abrupt and final end at the hands of Hades. Even before his death, he rarely was given material to work with towards the end and seemed to just be lost in the background, like other characters before him.
They Feared Ginnifer Goodwin Would Quit Her First Day
There really is no way Once would have worked without Snow White as a major part of the show. Ginnifer Goodwin was perfectly cast in the role, but producers were nervous that she would quit on her very first day.
While preparing to film the first scene with her in the coffin, they hollowed out a tree trunk for the scene. She was going to be in a dress in this trunk with snow coming down, and, understandably, they were worried it would be too much to ask of her right away. So, when she came out and asked, “is that the coffin?” and producers confirmed, she surprised them when she said “F—ing awesome.”
Rumpelstiltskin Was Written For Robert Carlyle
When the writers of Once Upon A Time were originally interpreting their version of Rumpelstiltskin for the show, they pictured actor Robert Carlyle immediately for the role. Of course, it helped them to fully develop the character, even if they never in their wildest dreams imagined that he would actually want to be on the show.
To their great surprise, he was more than willing to enter their magical world, and he became one of the most iconic characters to ever grace the series. He was there up until the very end and he definitely made his performance a memorable one.
The Clock Tower Had A LOST Reference
The clock tower in the series had a major significance to the people of Storybrooke. It was stuck at the same time for 28 years and made all of the town’s residents literally frozen in time throughout its entire duration.
The time that the clock had stopped was 8:15, which had fans of the hit series speculating what the significance of the time would mean for the characters of the land without magic. Turns out, it was the co-creators’ nod to a show they had worked on before: LOST. It was reference to the infamous Oceanic Flight 815 that began the puzzling mystery that was LOST.
