Everyone who has seen the Season 3 premiere of Once Upon A Time, which aired September 30 on ABC, saw that Lana Parilla’s “Evil Queen” Regina walked away with many of the episode’s best moments and lines, a trend that will continue in through this Sunday’s new episode, “Lost Girl.” Whether it’s talking about rainbow kisses and unicorn stickers or other snarking, often in the Charmings’ direction, everything that came from Regina seemed to be a hit.
We spoke with Lana Parrilla about the start of Season 3 while at the Vancouver studio that houses Once Upon A Time earlier this week. Before she talked about those famous lines, though, she enthused about doing the “cat fight” sequences in the premiere, which were also amusing.
“It was hilarious. Ginny [Goodwin] and I could not stop laughing,” Parrilla admits. “She’s super careful and very professional, so she would not even grab my hair… she would just make a fist and pretend she was grabbing my hair, and I would do the same, and we would just kind of move our heads side to side, and then we would start laughing, because it was just hilarious. I’m sure it was fun to watch.”
As for the dialogue in “The Heart Of The Truest Believer,” Parrilla acknowledges that it was “so fun” to say some of those lines. The most popular, of course, was Regina’s declaration to “fillet the bitch” — a line that had a reaction that even exceeded the actress’s expectations. “I didn’t realize how successful that one line would be! It’s a huge hit. Everyone Tweeted that night that that was their favorite line in the whole show. I have many of those this season,” she teases.
Regina will get plenty of chances for more snark in coming episodes, as the journey into Neverland keeps Regina and the Charmings in close quarters for a while. Despite the snark, Parrilla admits that they have to work together. “I think it’s about compartmentalizing. They just have to put it aside for now. The main objective is Henry, and getting Henry back. We just have no choice but to work together. I think, also when we see that Emma and Regina have gotten to a place where they’re calling themselves ‘the Moms,’ it’s a little more cordial, I find,” she explains, pointing out that it’s not Emma who has been the real problem for Regina in this “war.” “The real war has always been between the Evil Queen and Snow White. Emma was always a threat, because she came to Storybrooke and she’s trying to take Henry back, but I find that this season, we’re working together, and they’re getting along. There’s an episode coming up where Regina has to help her with magic, so she’s teaching her magic,” she reveals. “I’m slightly impatient, as Regina is, but I think she’s enjoying the camaraderie, at least with Emma.”
“For Lana it’s been fun; for Regina it’s ben frustrating,” she says while laughing, explaining how the alliance has been going. “She’s kind of at her wits’ end. By episode 6, she’s pretty much had it,” she teases. “She just doesn’t do things the way the Charmings do them. She doesn’t go about things in a kind, loving way,” she laughs. Does the Charmings’ positivity rub off on her? “Not really,” she admits. “It’s almost like she has to choice but to stick with them.”
Ultimately, the Charmings and Regina will surely end up in battle with Peter Pan — a character that hasn’t seem to have fazed the “Evil Queen” just yet. “I don’t think she really understands this ‘Pan’ character,” Lana admits. “He’s a teenager, and I think that’s how she looks at it. She’s never interacted with him, so I don’t think she fears him the way others fear him. He’s kind of a mystery to her. Someone’s like ‘he’s a big scary monster!’ and you’re like ‘yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it.’ It’s that kind of thing. I don’t think she really buys how powerful he is just yet.”
A new episode of Once Upon A Time airs Sunday night, October 6 at 8PM (ET) on ABC! Come back soon for more interviews, and feel free to come by our forum for the episode countdown!
1 Comment
Great interview. I totally thought (and dont understand why she doesn’t) that Regina would split up from the Charming crew (and Hook) since they all hate her and she hates them. I thought she’d leave like Rumple did and use magic and try and get Henry back first and ditch them in never land.