50 Fun Facts About Once Upon a Time

In which year did Once Upon a Time premiere on ABC?

It premiered on October 23, 2011 and ended after seven seasons on May 18, 2018.

In which US state is the fictional town of Storybrooke?

Its residents lived an unchanging existence for 28 years, unaware they were not ageing.

Which two writers from Lost created Once Upon a Time?

They had the idea in 2004 but waited until Lost was over; Damon Lindelof helped as an uncredited consultant they called the show's godfather.

Who plays Emma Swan?

Katee Sackhoff auditioned five times for the part before taking Longmire instead; Morrison had come from House.

What is Emma Swan's job when the series begins?

She is working in Boston when a ten-year-old turns up on her 28th birthday claiming to be the son she gave up.

Emma is the daughter of which two fairy-tale characters?

She was sent to our world through a magic wardrobe as a baby, just before the curse hit.

Who casts the Dark Curse that traps everyone in Storybrooke?

She interrupts Snow White's wedding to announce it, and gets the curse from Rumplestiltskin.

What is Regina's job in Storybrooke?

Her cursed alter ego keeps the town's mirror handy and its therapist, Jiminy Cricket, on retainer.

Which Scottish actor plays the Dark One, known in Storybrooke as Mr. Gold?

The part was written with him in mind; his manic prison scene on his first day of shooting made Ginnifer Goodwin jump.

Which Storybrooke resident is really Snow White?

She volunteers at the hospital, where she leaves flowers by the bed of a comatose John Doe who is really Prince Charming.

Under the curse, Prince Charming lives in Storybrooke under what name?

He spends the pilot in a coma as a John Doe, and Josh Dallas played him.

Which two Once Upon a Time co-stars married each other in April 2014?

Snow White and Prince Charming in real life: they got engaged in October 2013 and have two sons.

Which actor, later of Fifty Shades of Grey, played the Huntsman and Sheriff Graham in season one?

Regina keeps his heart in her vault, and she crushes it in the first season, killing him.

Which Irish actor plays Killian Jones, better known as Captain Hook?

Hook started as a recurring role in season two, was promoted to the main cast and ended the series married to Emma.

Which villain turns out to be Regina's long-lost half-sister?

Their mother Cora abandoned her in a basket as a baby; Rebecca Mader, who played Charlotte on Lost, took the role.

Who is revealed to be Henry's biological father?

That makes Rumplestiltskin Henry's grandfather, since Baelfire is the son he lost through a portal centuries earlier.

Peter Pan, the season three villain, is revealed to be which character's father?

Malcolm abandoned his son to stay young in Neverland; Robbie Kay played the boy who never grew up.

Why does Peter Pan kidnap Henry in season three?

The rescue party of Emma, Regina, Snow, Charming, Hook and Rumplestiltskin sail to Neverland on the Jolly Roger.

Which two Frozen characters arrive in Storybrooke in the fourth season?

Georgina Haig played Elsa, and Elizabeth Mitchell of Lost played their aunt Ingrid, the Snow Queen.

Which three villains formed the Queens of Darkness in season four?

Rumplestiltskin brought them together; Victoria Smurfit's Cruella was written so that the Author had sealed her fate to never take another life.

At the end of season four, Emma becomes what in order to save Regina?

The actress researched swan mythology to build her Dark Swan persona for the fifth season.

Which sorcerer do the characters travel to Camelot to find in season five?

King Arthur, played by Liam Garrigan, turns out to be the season's real threat, wielding Excalibur with Zelena's help.

Which god rules the Underworld that Emma leads a rescue party into in season five?

Greg Germann played him as a fast-talking bureaucrat, and Hook was the one Emma went down to bring back.

Which literary character menaces Storybrooke in season six alongside a newly separated Evil Queen?

Dr. Jekyll's serum split Regina from her evil half, so Lana Parrilla got to play both.

In the seventh season the action moves to Hyperion Heights, a fictional neighbourhood of which city?

Andrew J. West took over as adult Henry, with a new curse and new versions of Cinderella, Tiana and Rapunzel.

Who plays Cinderella, known as Jacinda in Hyperion Heights, in the final season?

She is married to adult Henry, and their daughter Lucy sets the season in motion by turning up with the storybook.

Which Canadian village doubles for Storybrooke's exteriors?

Bright objects like flowers were hidden during filming to keep the cursed town looking dull.

How many episodes did Once Upon a Time run for?

The finale, "Leaving Storybrooke", was the 22nd episode of season seven and brought back most of the original cast as guests.

Which spin-off ran for 13 episodes in 2013-14 with Sophie Lowe in the title role?

It was cancelled after one season, but Michael Socha's Will Scarlet, the Knave of Hearts, moved to the parent show as a regular.

Which Lost actress plays Belle?

Her cursed identity was Lacey; she married Rumplestiltskin and had a son, Gideon.

Which fairy-tale figure is Ruby, the waitress at Granny's Diner?

Meghan Ory left the main cast in season three for the CBS series Intelligence but kept coming back.

Henry's therapist Dr. Archie Hopper is secretly which character?

Raphael Sbarge played him, and his cursed dalmatian is called Pongo.

August Wayne Booth, the mysterious writer who arrives in season one, is really whom?

He was sent through the wardrobe with baby Emma and was supposed to look after her, but abandoned her in a foster home.

Which two actresses have played Cora, Regina's mother and the Queen of Hearts?

McGowan played the younger Cora in flashbacks; Hershey's version rips out hearts and rules Wonderland.

Which fairy tale is Emma Swan's character loosely based on?

Like the lost swan raised by ducks, she is a foster child who eventually finds her birth family and her true nature.

Emma and her teen boyfriend planned to start over in which Florida city before he betrayed her?

August talked him into turning her in to protect her destiny, and she ended up in jail.

How does Emma finally break the first curse in the season one finale?

Henry had eaten the poisoned apple turnover meant for her, and Emma had to fight Maleficent in dragon form to retrieve the antidote first.

Before Once Upon a Time, the actor who plays Mr. Gold played Begbie and Gaz in which two films?

He won a BAFTA for The Full Monty and later played the Bond villain Renard in The World Is Not Enough.

Before playing the Evil Queen, Lana Parrilla was a regular on which Fox thriller's fourth season?

Born in Brooklyn, she is the daughter of a Puerto Rican baseball player who spent a season with the Phillies.

The actress who plays Emma was best known before the show as Dr. Allison Cameron on which medical drama?

She also played Zoey on How I Met Your Mother and Kirk's mother Winona in the 2009 Star Trek.

Which Marvel character had Josh Dallas played, as a last-minute replacement, before Once Upon a Time?

He got the part days before filming after Stuart Townsend withdrew, and Zachary Levi took over for the sequels.

Which 1980s ABC sitcom had already put Snow White and her prince in the modern world?

ABC had also bought the rights to Bill Willingham's comic Fables in 2008 but never got it past planning.

Which Lost props and brands turn up as in-jokes in Once Upon a Time?

Ajira Airways, MacCutcheon whiskey and the TV show Exposé also sneak in as nods to the shared production team.

Who composed the show's theme and score?

A 25-track soundtrack came out in 2012, and Cindy O'Connor and Michael D. Simon joined him for the final season.

How many viewers watched the pilot, making it ABC's biggest debut in five years?

With DVR playback it climbed to 15.5 million, and the series stayed the top-rated drama of the season.

In which year did Kitsis and Horowitz first conceive Once Upon a Time, before joining Lost?

They had just finished working on Felicity and chose to wait until Lost ended to pursue it.

Which Lost co-creator served as an uncredited consultant, dubbed the show's 'godfather'?

The creators said Lost was about redemption, while their show is about hope.

Fans of which Bill Willingham comic series accused the show of borrowing its premise?

ABC had bought the rights to the comic in 2008 but never got past planning; Willingham said it was not plagiarism.

Why are brightly coloured objects such as flowers hidden during filming in Steveston?

Interiors such as Mr. Gold's pawn shop and the clock tower are built in separate studios.

Which 2013 comic book follows the Huntsman after Regina takes his heart?

A sequel, Out of the Past, followed in 2014 with flashbacks for Hook, Belle and the Mad Hatter.