A long time ago, in a far away set location somewhere in Vancouver, British Columbia, Josh Dallas emerges from the “Enchanted Forest” as the beloved Prince Charming. He is ever so valiant with his sword and cape, but alas! Dallas is not the quintessential prince you might have imagined from your childhood fairytales. His role on the hit television show, Once Upon A Time, doesn’t just battle villains of the storybook kind; he battles villains of the real world and the complexities within himself.
When reminiscing with us about long days past, Dallas fondly remembers his childhood playing in the outdoors of Indiana with a suitcase full of He-Man action figures. Perhaps this was some sort of foreshadowing of his adulthood, eventually playing a hero in the grown-up version of himself. Dallas was heavily involved in the award-winning performing arts program at the New Albany Senior Public High School. Even at an early age, Dallas always had endeavors to be a part of the arts. When asked if there was a moment when he realized he wanted to be an actor, he tells us about the first role that truly connected to him. “I played the Jack-in-the-Box in an elementary school play. When I uttered the words, “I am the Jack-in-the-Box… the morals I keep” I jumped out of the box and heard the applause. I knew that this was it for me.”
Dallas left the United States at 18 years old to train with the Mountview Conservatoire for the Performing Arts in London. He received a prestigious scholarship that is awarded to only one American student every 3 years. Shortly after, Dallas landed his first acting job with the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company where he describes his experience there as, “tremendous.” Although it felt like almost a lifetime ago, it was truly a great time in his life. “It was kind of my dream to work with them because they were one of the first and greatest theatres in the world. It was my first professional gig and an absolute dream come true. To be in a space with all of that history, some of the greatest actors having performed there before me, it was an inspiring start to my career.”
Having played other fantastical characters, such as Fandral from Marvel’s popular comic series Thor, Dallas notes the exceptional aspects of getting to be part of such beloved material. “People have loved these characters since childhood, especially those from Once Upon A Time. You’re coming into a situation where the characters are so well known and loved, there’s pressure because you want to do it right and do justice to the character for the fans.”
As most would suspect, playing such a popular character would come with a unique set of parameters. Yet, Dallas took this role on with an intention to give the audience a new point of view that we have never seen before. “Specifically with Prince Charming, people tend to already have a preconceived notion of who he is. He’s an incredibly idealized character in society. We grow up with the idea that Prince Charming will come along and make everything better and save us. That is the only side we know about him, but in this role, we get to show another side of him that’s real, fractured, human. That makes it so much more interesting.”
Dallas left the United States at 18 years old to train with the Mountview Conservatoire for the Performing Arts in London. He received a prestigious scholarship that is awarded to only one American student every 3 years. Shortly after, Dallas landed his first acting job with the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company where he describes his experience there as, “tremendous.” Although it felt like almost a lifetime ago, it was truly a great time in his life. “It was kind of my dream to work with them because they were one of the first and greatest theatres in the world. It was my first professional gig and an absolute dream come true. To be in a space with all of that history, some of the greatest actors having performed there before me, it was an inspiring start to my career.”
Having played other fantastical characters, such as Fandral from Marvel’s popular comic series Thor, Dallas notes the exceptional aspects of getting to be part of such beloved material. “People have loved these characters since childhood, especially those from Once Upon A Time. You’re coming into a situation where the characters are so well known and loved, there’s pressure because you want to do it right and do justice to the character for the fans.”
As most would suspect, playing such a popular character would come with a unique set of parameters. Yet, Dallas took this role on with an intention to give the audience a new point of view that we have never seen before. “Specifically with Prince Charming, people tend to already have a preconceived notion of who he is. He’s an incredibly idealized character in society. We grow up with the idea that Prince Charming will come along and make everything better and save us. That is the only side we know about him, but in this role, we get to show another side of him that’s real, fractured, human. That makes it so much more interesting.”
Being tucked away in the Enchanted Forest for 9 months at a time, Dallas notes that it can feel like they’re trapped in a bubble. But once a year, a very special multigenre and comic convention event called, Comicon, is held in San Diego, California. “Comicon gets into your bones, you have to decompress for at least a week after. This is our fourth time going and it was the best time yet! Our fans, fans of genre television in general are passionate, it’s incredible! It’s great because we’re removed being in Vancouver, telling these stories; you forget people are actually watching it. For whatever reason, it touches a lot of people and it’s nice to see them so close up. It takes you aback and makes you realize this is why we do it.”
“Last year, we did a press photo shoot right behind The Walking Dead and I “fan-girled” out on Andrew Lincoln. I miss The Walking Dead. We were nowhere close to them this year, I’m pretty sure they put a restraining order on me after last year.”
And they lived happily ever after. Maybe not the zombies, but most everyone else.
