What The Cast Of Once Upon A Time Is Doing Today
The fantasy drama Once Upon a Time re-introduced us to characters who we've all known since our childhoods. From Belle and Snow White to Captain Hook and Robin Hood, watching Once Upon a Time brought these characters from the pages of fairytale books to the small screen. But there was a major twist. This series wasn't telling the same tales that we'd already heard so many times before. Instead, all of these classic characters had been cursed to forget who they really were and to live out their lives as human beings in a small town called Storybrooke, with no knowledge of their true identities or abilities. But when the secret eventually gets out, they have to fight to put their world back together.
Once Upon a Time was full of ups and downs, but like in all fairy tales, most of the characters had genuinely happy endings. But what about the actors who brought those witches, pirates, and werewolves to life? Since leaving Storybrooke and saying goodbye to the characters they spent years playing, where are the cast members now? Well, here's a look at where all of your favorite actors from Once Upon a Time (OUAT) have ended up since the series finale.
Lana Parrilla has had some personal issues since Once Upon a Time
For seven years, Lana Parrilla completely embodied the role of the Evil Queen Regina on OUAT. She placed a curse upon the town of Storybrooke and robbed the fairytale residents of their memories, but despite her conniving ways, she was a fan favorite from the series premiere to the finale. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Parrilla admitted that she was "super upset" when she found out that OUAT was finally ending, but she found a silver lining in that she'd finally get to take some much-needed time off.
"It's been a long time being away from home. I've been homesick for seven years," Parrilla said. But while she was on her brief hiatus from acting, Parrilla went through some major life changes. She and her husband, Alfredo di Blasio, decided to get a divorce, and although she was heartbroken, she stated in an Instagram post that she wanted to take the opportunity to live fully and discover who she really was. Now, she's getting back on her feet again and returning to Hollywood with a role in the film The Tax Collector, which is slated for a 2020 release.
Robert Carlyle has mellowed out a bit since playing Rumpelstiltskin
Robert Carlyle's Rumpelstiltskin was both the villain and the hero of OUAT, and Carlyle deftly played the dark and light sides of this complex character. Carlyle was known for being a committed method actor — he once spent two weeks sleeping on the streets to prepare for the film Safe, which was about homelessness — but in recent years, he's taken a more relaxed approach to his craft. "[Method acting] was something I felt I had to do back then to understand this person that I was playing," Carlyle explained in an interview with ShortList, adding, "But of course, you don't have to kill someone in order to know what it's like to be a murderer! Eventually, as you get older, you leave all that behind."
But Carlyle has definitely stayed busy since OUAT wrapped. He made an uncredited appearance in the film Yesterday as John Lennon, and he also played Ogilvy in the TV mini-series The War of the Worlds. And he even did a bit of method acting to get ready to play Prime Minister Robert Sutherland in the series COBRA, talking with Scottish politicians to learn about the inner workings of secretive government meetings. He admitted that he learned a few pieces of information that he couldn't share with the public!
Jennifer Morrison has been working steady since Once Upon a Time
Emma Swan, a bail-bonds agent living in Boston, never thought that she would see her son, Henry, again after giving him up for adoption. But when he returned, her world was turned upside down when Henry revealed that only Emma could save the people of Storybrooke and break the curse. And as the main character of the series, Jennifer Morrison always played Emma as a strong and dynamic character, someone who could be both compassionate and ruthless.
Morrison may have hung up Emma's iconic leather jacket, but she's still making strides in her career. After her last days on the set of OUAT, Morrison went on to appear in films like The Report and Bombshell. Morrison also landed the role of Cassidy Sharp on another popular TV show, the NBC family drama This Is Us. Furthermore, she's experimented with working behind the camera, as she recently directed an episode of the HBO series Euphoria. Morrison hasn't slowed down for a second since saying goodbye to OUAT, so if you miss seeing her on your screen, chances are you'll catch her again soon.
Ginnifer Goodwin has shown up on TV and the stage
In the world of OUAT, Ginnifer Goodwin got her happy ending as Snow White with her Prince Charming. So what's she been up to since then? After making her exit from OUAT at the end of season six, she decided to challenge herself by taking on a role in the play Constellations. "I'd been obsessing over a homesickness for theater when this came into my life," Goodwin said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. She said working on Constellations was one of the most "demanding" projects she'd ever taken on.
After her run with Constellations ended, Goodwin went on to play Beth Ann Stanton in the series Why Women Kill. She took on some more responsibility for the Lifetime film I Am Somebody's Child: The Regina Louise Story, producing the movie and co-starring as Jeanne Kerr. And Goodwin is still with her real-life Prince Charming, as she's married to Josh Dallas, who played the Prince in OUAT.
After Once Upon a Time, Josh Dallas found success on another popular TV series
Prince Charming nearly died at the end of OUAT season six, but in a classic fairytale ending, receiving true love's kiss from Snow White saved his life. As for actor Josh Dallas, he made an early exit from OUAT, and after shooting his final scenes, he wanted to take a step back and think carefully about what his next career move should be. During his time off, he read through countless scripts, searching for the perfect role.
When Dallas opened up the script for the NBC drama Manifest, he was immediately interested in playing Ben Stone, a passenger on Montego Air Flight 828. In the show, the ill-fated plane goes missing and reappears over five years later, with Ben and the other passengers having no idea how much time has passed. "He was a character that jumped out at me because he's so different, in many ways, from my character on Once Upon a Time," Dallas told Collider. "He's a normal human. He's very flawed and very complex, and he's trying to work through that." And as a key player in this supernatural mystery, it looks like Dallas has been doing just fine since leaving Storybrooke behind.
After playing Henry, Jared S. Gilmore moved into the world of video games
Emma Swan's son, Henry Mills, was such an important role in OUAT that the directors knew they would need a very skilled child actor to pull it off. After all, his reappearance in Emma's life would set off the chain of events for the entire story, and the actor would need to be able to play the same character as he grew up. Showrunners Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis felt that the character would have to be "precocious and vulnerable at the same time," and when Jared S. Gilmore walked in for the audition, Kitsis said, "We just knew he had to be our Henry!"
Towards the end of the show's run, Gilmore technically began sharing the role of Henry with another actor, Andrew J. West. And since leaving OUAT, Gilmore has done some voice acting for the animated film Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;Surrection. Today, Gilmore is leaning into his other hobbies, like video games. In March 2019, he was brought on to Atlanta Reign stream team. Perhaps he will return to acting one day, but right now, he doesn't have any new projects lined up.
Motherhood has been keeping Emilie de Ravin pretty busy
Emilie de Ravin's bittersweet ending as Belle on OUAT was a tearjerker. She lived out the rest of her days with Rumpelstiltskin, eventually passing away with him by her side. As for the actress herself, shortly after the series finale, de Ravin had her second child with her fiance Eric Bilitch. The couple named their new son Theodore. And since she finished shooting OUAT, de Ravin hasn't been very busy with acting. Of course, as a mom of two, she's definitely had her hands full at home!
But she hasn't been on a true hiatus, either. In 2019, she starred as Brooke in the TV movie A Lover Scorned, which followed her character as she attempted to escape from her loveless marriage by having an affair. She also has another project lined up, as she's set to play in the upcoming film Wreckage, which is about a man who's trapped in the rubble of a building after surviving a terrorist attack.
Colin O'Donoghue hasn't strayed far from Captain Hook
Colin O'Donoghue began playing Captain Hook in the second season of OUAT, and from the moment his storyline began, he made a big impression. In a dramatic conclusion to his tale, his life is saved by Rumpelstiltskin, who'd once been his sworn enemy.
Since the end of OUAT, O'Donoghue has voiced the character Douxie for the TV series Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia. He also had roles in the movie What Still Remains and the short film Writersphere. But his biggest role has been playing Gordon Cooper in the TV series The Right Stuff, an upcoming show about the real-life fighter pilots who trained to become the Mercury Seven. And recently, O'Donoghue has even returned to "playing" Captain Hook for one very special purpose. He's been getting back into character to read Peter Pan (and do voice impressions of all the characters) for Disney's 365 Bedtime Stories program.
Sean Maguire has been keeping things magical since Once Upon a Time
Out of all of the characters in OUAT, Robin Hood, played by Sean Maguire, probably had one of the most tragic endings, as he sacrifices himself to save Regina's life. His storyline basically came to an end in season five, although the character did technically make a few reappearances after that.
For Maguire, getting this role was a lucky break. Originally, actor Tom Ellis joined the cast of OUAT as Robin Hood with a guest role in season two, but the part was eventually recast due to Ellis' limited availability. And what has Maguire been doing since then? As it turns out, he's been steadily booking new projects.
After OUAT, Maguire's first role was starring as Bill in the comedy short film Are We Good Parents? Following that, he was a guest star on the popular sci-fi drama The 100. In 2020, he joined the cast of the series The Magicians for the dual role of Sir Effingham and his other side, the Dark King. So yeah, it seems as if Maguire really enjoys popping up in magical fantasy worlds.
Rebecca Mader is involved with family and TV films
Rebecca Mader became part of the OUAT cast in season three, playing the Wicked Witch of the West. Like several other cast members, she was demoted from her full-time role at the end of season six and came back as a recurring character in season seven. Fortunately, OUAT is the kind of series where even a "wicked witch" can have a happy ending, and Mader loved her character so much that she told Entertainment Weekly that she wished she could do a spin-off series.
This spin-off hasn't materialized (although there's no doubt that OUAT fans would tune in if it ever became reality), but Mader has been plenty busy since her days on OUAT ended. In November 2019, she gave birth to her first child, a son named Milo. As far as acting roles, she went on to star in the TV movie Like Family, which is about two friends who've been close since growing together as foster children, and now they're trying to make it in New York City as adults.
Raphael Sbarge stepped behind the camera
In OUAT, Raphael Sbarge played Jiminy Cricket and his human counterpart, a psychologist named Archie Hopper. At one point, his character was presumed dead, but he eventually made his return and remained a part of the cast until the final season.
Sbarge's career has taken some interesting turns since his OUAT. He's definitely been branching out and getting into projects that are quite different from his previous work. In addition to doing guest spots on TV shows like The Good Doctor, NCIS: New Orleans, The Blacklist, and Hunters, Sbarge has begun working on documentaries. In 2019, he directed his first full-length doc, LA Foodways, which explores the history of agriculture in Los Angeles, widespread issues with food waste in the city, and solutions for more efficient food production and distribution systems. He's currently directing his next documentary, titled Only in Theatres, and according to the tagline, it will tell the story of "how one immigrant family helped make Hollywood." Additionally, he'll be appearing in the upcoming film There's No Such Thing as Vampires, which doesn't have a confirmed release date just yet.
What happened to Meghan Ory after Once Upon a Time?
Meghan Ory's version of Red Riding Hood wasn't the fairytale character that you knew growing up. In OUAT, "Red" Lucas was actually a werewolf, and the only way that she could prevent herself from transforming was by wearing her special red cape. But her dark side didn't get in the way of her happy ending, as she saved Dorothy with true love's first kiss, breaking her sleeping curse.
Ory's life has definitely changed since her time on OUAT ended. From 2016 through 2019, Ory was playing Abby O'Brien on the Hallmark series Chesapeake Shores. And in May 2018, Ory and her husband John Reardon welcomed their first child, a son. In October 2019, the couple had a daughter, and since then, it seems like Ory has been taking a hiatus from acting. Right now, it looks like she's just figuring out what her next career move will be while balancing acting with family life.