Once Upon A Time Trivia | 40 facts about the series

«Once Upon a Time» is an American fantasy adventure drama television series that aired for seven seasons on ABC from October 23, 2011, to May 18, 2018.

Let’s find out more about the series!

1. Josh Dallas (Prince Charming) and Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White) went on to marry in real life.
2. The role of Rumplestiltskin was written specifically for Robert Carlyle.
3. Most of the objects in Mr. Golds were brought in by the cast.
4. During one of the episodes, Prince Charming mentions to Snow White about falling through a portal to Asgard, a reference to Marvel’s Thor. Josh Dallas played Fandral in Thor (2011).
5. Names for many characters in Storybrooke are often coordinated with their fairy tale counterpart. For example:
6. Mary Margaret Blanchard (Snow White): Blanchard derives from the French word “blanc” or “blanche” for white. The name “Mary Margaret” is from a real-life woman believed to be the inspiration of the Snow White character named “Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina Freifräulein Von Erthal” (born on June 15, 1729 in Germany).
7. Regina Mills (Evil Queen): Regina is a Late Latin and Modern Italian feminine noun and name meaning “queen”. Regina’s grandfather was a Miller so that is a connection to her last name.
8. David Nolan (Prince Charming): The masculine name David means “darling” or “beloved.” In Biblical text, it is also the name of the shepherd who became King David after defeating the Goliath the giant. Nolan is a Gaelic name meaning “noble,” “fighter,” or “champion.”
9. Mr. Gold (Rumpelstiltskin): Rumpelstiltskin spun straw into gold in his story.
10. Ruby (Red Riding Hood): A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone.
11. Ashley Boyd (Cinderella): Cinders precede ashes in the burning process. Also, Cinderella was originally called Ashputtel. Boyd derives from the Gaelic word “buidhe” meaning yellow-haired.
12. Sidney Glass (Mirror): Because another word for mirror is glass or looking glass. Also, his newspaper is called “The Mirror.” Sidney’s character as the Queen’s minion trapped in a mirror parallels a genie trapped in a bottle/lamp as a master’s servant. The name Sidney refers to Sidney Sheldon, the creator of I dream of Jinny (1965).
13. Archie Hopper (Jiminy Cricket): Crickets are sometimes called hoppers, because they hop to get around. “Archie” could also allude to the cockroach poet created in 1916 by Don Marquis.
14. Jefferson (The Mad Hatter): The group Jefferson Airplane has a song called “White Rabbit” which uses lyrics derived from the “Alice in Wonderland” tales.
15. Paige (Grace): In the real world, the Hatter’s daughter is named Paige, but in the fairy tale land her name is Grace. Grace Slick was a member of Jefferson Airplane and writer of their song “White Rabbit.”
16. Cora (The Queen of Hearts): Derived from the Latin word “cor” meaning heart.
17. Zelena/Kelly West (The Wicked Witch): Zelena means “green” in various Slavic languages. Also, “keligreen” is a shade of green, and the Wicked Witch is associated with the West.
18. August W. Booth (Pinocchio): W. Booth references to Wayne C. Booth, who coined the term the “unreliable narrator” i.e. a blatant liar who misleads the audience. August’s fairy tale counterpart is known for lying.
19. -Jacinda and Lucy’s last name Vidrio is Spanish for glass like the glass slipper Cinderella wears.
20. The friendship between Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood is a nod to “Snow White and Rose Red”, another German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm.
21. At the 2014 Oz Comic Con, Jennifer Morrison confirmed that one of her favorite scenes was when Hook quoted the infamous “as you wish” to Emma, saying that it was her own “Buttercup moment”.The wardrobe that Emma was sent through when she’s born is a nod to The Chronicles of Narnia; it is even made from a special tree from a magical universe.
22. Elizabeth Mitchell found it hard to wear high heels in the woods for her role as the Snow Queen, and suggested that she be bare-footed instead.
23. The creators formally offered the part of the Blue Fairy, a.k.a. Mother Superior to singer Lady Gaga. However, according to Edward Kitsis, they never heard back from her management staff. The part then went to Keegan Connor Tracy.
24. Once Upon a Time writer Jane Espenson revealed that a first name for Mr Gold has never been created
25. Because Jared Gilmore (Henry Mills) is a minor, he is only allowed to work ten hours a day. Due to that, they have stand-ins when he is unavailable, and off-camera, have people speaking his lines. When performing one of the scenes, one of the actors thought the stand-in was actually Jared, and when he found out it wasn’t, broke out laughing, because it was actually a twenty-year-old woman.
26. In the song “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” from Disney’s Frozen (2013), Anna makes friends with the portraits to ease the loneliness. In one line, she talks to a portrait and says, “Hang in there Joan.” In this show, Joan is the alias she uses with Charming, a.k.a. David.
27. There is a Mickey Mouse phone, in the case, at Mr. Gold’s shop.
28. Originally, there was a plan to bring back Jamie Dornan for the finale of the third season. However, due to scheduling conflicts, the plan was scrapped.
29. Kristin Bauer van Straten briefly appeared in season one, but she was unable to return, due to her role in True Blood (2008). However, once True Blood concluded its run in 2014, she returned in season four.
30. Katee Sackhoff auditioned five times for the role of Emma Swan.
31. Prince Charming was originally supposed to die in the pilot episode but the writers decided it would be difficult to continue the show without him
32. Emma Swan’s first name was originally going to be “Anna”.
33. Most of the storybook’s characters, especially Queen Regina, are wearing Indian jewelry. Princes’ and Kings’ attires are Indian as well.
34. Jamie Dornan who played Huntsman\Graham was originally supposed to play Sherlock Holmes, however the show could not get the rights
35. Snow White’s name in Storybrooke is Mary Margaret. In the enchanted forest, Snow told Ruby, a.k.a. Red, her favorite names were Mary and Margaret.
36. Paula Marshall was cast as Maleficent, but was replaced by Kristin Bauer van Straten after producers decided to go in a different direction with the character.
37. Each opening title sequence contains a clue to one of the main themes in that episode, and is often color coordinated for that theme.
38. First season, episode 5, Henry drops an Apollo candy bar at the mouth of the mineshaft. Those are the same fictitious candy bars used on ABC’s Lost (2004).
39. When Robin Hood is looking through the Wizard of Oak’s, a.k.a. Oz’s drawers in New York City, you see a Mickey Mouse shaped object in one of them, next to some scissors.
40. Steveston, Richmond, British Columbia (which doubles as Storybrooke) was also the setting for an episode of The X Files (1993). The popular Granny’s Diner is first spotted behind Mulder and Scully at 9:32 in the episode The X Files: Gender Bender (1994). In that episode, Granny’s is Cannery Cafe which is the actual name of the establishment.