In Season 2, Emmy-award winning actress Rena Sofer joins the Once Upon a Time cast as Snow White’s mother 퀸 Eva. I felt so fortunate to chat with Rena prior to the airing of her episode—and her tremendous intelligence, wit, and passion for the 연기 craft is nothing short of inspirational! In the following interview, Rena discusses the nuances of her character, her unique experiences on the set, and the importance of embracing your full power when it comes to matters of the heart.
Diane: Hi Rena! We were so delighted to learn that you’re going to appear as 퀸 Eva, Snow White’s mother, in Season 2—have 당신 filmed the episode already?
Rena: Yes, we have!
Diane: 당신 appear in flashbacks in this episode slated for early March. I’ve seen 당신 in a promotional 사진 with the adorable Bailee Madison where she’s holding your hand and you’re smiling. We’re certified fairy tale geeks here - particularly Teresa Martin, our Origins writer who’s researched oral versions of Snow White in the original German language. So we’re dying to know if you’re playing Snow’s mother according to the traditional Grimm fairy tale where she dies early in the story? 또는 are 당신 playing the character from the archaic version prior to 1812 who does NOT die and instead becomes Snow’s evil nemesis rather than the stepmother? In other words, is your character a good mother, 또는 does she have secret evil intentions?
Rena: No, I don’t perceive my character as evil. I don’t know the plans of the show in the future, 또는 the ultimate arc of the character. But in my episode, I didn’t play someone dark—she was warm and loving to Snow.
Diane: Do we see 당신 pass away in this episode like in the fairy tale?
Rena: I’m not going to say anything! I can only say I’m Snow White’s mother.
Diane: Well we know Adam Horowitz has said in an earlier interview that 당신 have “a surprising connection to someone else in our world.” I’m hoping that means you’ll be in 더 많이 episodes then?
Rena: That would be great! But I don’t know quite yet.
Diane: As far as viewers are concerned, we do know 당신 eventually die because Snow White’s father King Leopold marries Regina. But it’s a fairy tale, so I suppose anything can happen.
Rena: Yes, anything is possible! Who knows, I could come back. I just started watching the show with my little girl, and I got to the part where Katherine is found in an alley alive. We’ve spent two episodes thinking she’s dead and that Mary Margaret is responsible, so there 당신 go. I don’t know for certain, but never say never.
Diane: When 당신 were watching episodes with your daughter, did she enjoy them as much as you?
Rena: Oh, she’s enjoying it as much if not more! And 당신 know, she’s seven and not a girly girl. She’s a real tomboy, and she doesn’t like fairy tales 또는 princesses, but she LOVES the show.
Diane: Now what about you—did 당신 enjoy fairy tales as a child?
Rena: I liked them, but I was never very princessy. I enjoyed the animated films—I’m in my forties so I saw them when they were new! That was amazing and exciting for me.
Diane: So what was it like to wear one of Eduardo Castro’s gorgeous gowns? I saw a picture of 당신 in that spectacular red dress. Is there some part of 당신 that enjoys dressing up as if 당신 were in a fairy tale just once in your life—was that really fun?
Rena: Oh it was so much fun! And I wore his outfits 더 많이 than once—the 더 많이 elaborate and uncomfortable, the better because they were so extraordinary. Even Bailee Madison had these massive hoop skirts on, so she had to step sideways to go through a door. She never complained for a 초 because just to wear one of those outfits was a blessing.
Diane: Has anyone ever told 당신 that 당신 resemble Vivian Leigh? In that spectacular red dress 의해 Eduardo Castro with your regal bearing, 당신 really reminded me of her. 당신 have that same kind of wonderful screen presence.
Rena: Thank 당신 so much!
Diane: Did 당신 audition for this role, 또는 did they just give 당신 a call?
Rena: They did call me to come in and audition for the role. When they did, it was early December and I had the flu, so I had to pass. And I was so upset about it because I’d been told my whole life I look like Snow White! The last thing I wanted to do was not go in. But my voice sounded horrendous—I thought there was no way I could get that part. Then a week 또는 two later my agent called and said they hadn’t cast the part yet, so would I consider going back in? I did, and I have to say it all felt so perfectly right.
Diane: Whoa, that just gives me goosebumps! 당신 really do have a resemblance to Ginnifer Goodwin and Bailee Madison—it almost seems fated that 당신 would get this role.
Rena: But they didn’t tell me I won the role until after the new year, so I had to watch a marathon of shows to catch up before I reported to the set!
Diane: I noticed that you’ve been in a lot of 텔레비전 shows—your body of work is astounding. But you’ve often come in after shows have been under way for a few seasons, so you’re dealing with a veteran cast. What’s it like to be the new kid on the block—does it ever get any easier?
Rena: 당신 know, if the cast is kind, then it’s always easy. As actors, we morph in and out of places—we’re nomads, and 당신 get used to that kind of life. I do enjoy being somewhere for a longer period of time though, and I’ve done shows where I’ve been there for a couple of years. If the cast is welcoming, then it’s a really easy transition. Rarely has it happened that the cast hasn’t been kind. But the one thing that’s wonderful about Once Upon a Time for the guest cast is that they have huge roles in the show! It’s not like Law & Order where you’re just a killer for a short time and 당신 don’t play a very important part in the 사무용 겉옷, 전반적인 story.
Diane: You’re right—the guest actors occupy a lot of screen time!
Rena: Yes! Look at the Mad Hatter and Sebastian Stan—that episode was so much about him. He wasn’t just memorable as a character in that episode—he WAS the episode! And that’s the great thing about Once Upon a Time—the regular cast has got to be welcoming because it would be difficult to maintain the show with these huge guest spots if they weren’t. And they absolutely are welcoming! People couldn’t have been nicer to me.
Diane: Has anyone on the set surprised 당신 의해 how different they are in real life from their character?
Rena: Everyone is really nice, regardless of whether they play evil characters. I had just watched Regina’s mother Cora in an episode, and when I was on the set I got to meet Barbara Hershey. She was incredibly ill with the flu, and yet she was one of the nicest people! And Lana Parilla is amazing. I met her in the trailer and make-up room and she was very nice as well. She’s not the Evil 퀸 in person—she’s just lovely! Most of the time actors are very gracious. Not always, but most of the time. But in this show, everyone is wonderful.
Diane: It makes sense because someone like Lana Parilla couldn’t play her role with complexity if she was one dimensional herself. Did 당신 happen to have any scenes with Lesley Nicol of Downton Abbey?
Rena: I did! And that was probably my greatest surprise because I’m a huge Downton Abbey fan. On the 일 that I arrived on the set of Once Upon a Time, I happen to see this woman who has red hair walking towards me. I had just come to the set to meet the director, and fortunately I got to meet everyone—Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, Lana Parilla, and Barbara Hershey. Then all of a sudden this woman walks up, and I’m thinking, “Oh my god—that’s Mrs. Patmore!” I was so excited to meet the cast—I didn’t even expect to meet Lesley Nicol, too. So it was hard to concentrate on meeting the cast after that because there was this woman standing right in front of me who I associate with an entirely different show in a different country—yet there she was! It was very exciting. And she’s absolutely wonderful.
Diane: That must feel so surreal, especially if you’re a 팬 of the show! But this has happened to 당신 a lot—you’ve worked with everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to Edward Norton. Have 당신 had any huge, star-struck moments, 또는 do 당신 just try to stay in your work “zone”?
Rena: Well, I try not to get too 별, 스타 struck because I don’t think it’s very becoming on a person. But on the other hand, I also realize that when 당신 pretend to act “cool”, as though the person in front of 당신 doesn’t really matter, you’re actually doing yourself a disservice. I think the greatest thing 당신 can do as an actor is to look the other person in the eye and say, “I’m a huge 팬 of yours.” I’m not going to scream and cry and fall all over them, but I will admit that I’m in awe of their work. And I will muster the courage to say, “I’m so excited to be standing here right now and to have the chance to meet you.” I believe it’s better to just let myself have those moments, and to allow myself to be excited about who I’m with! And I feel that way about chefs, too, at a great restaurant—or anyone who’s really good at what they do. I like to let people know that I appreciate their talent.
Diane: That’s wonderful because you’re allowing yourself to stay emotionally authentic in the moment, regardless of who it is. Now in your body of work, I’m fascinated 의해 the fact that 당신 won an Emmy award for Lois Cerullo in General Hospital, who is rough around the edges with a heavy Brooklyn accent and is at times quite comedic and over the top. (For a clip of Rena playing Lois Cerullo, click here) Yet I’ve also seen 당신 play roles like Heidi Petrelli, the politician’s wife in 히어로즈 where 당신 are very serious and dramatic. Your range is huge! What was it like to win that Emmy for your 텔레비전 work—did it fry your brain for a moment?
Rena: Shock. Total shock! (See Rena’s Emmy-winning moment here) I had done a soap opera before that called Loving, and I’d been to the Emmys and watched them before, but it was always behind the velvet rope. I didn’t consider myself “of the people” who win those kinds of awards. So I never connected myself to that possibility. When I was doing Lois, I understood her almost 더 많이 than I’ve ever understood anybody.
Diane: How is that possible? She’s not like 당신 at all!!
Rena: If I could have chosen to be somebody in this world at that time, I would have chosen to be her! She is who I wished I could be. And because the 글쓰기 was so brilliantly done, I just was able to do and say things that Rena could never get away with! It was like I put on an entirely different “suit” when I walked onto the set each morning. And it was a very transcendent experience for me, which I think showed when I won the Emmy. I remember sitting there watching all these amazing 여배우 in their scenes where they were crying their eyes out. I mean, I was up against Jackie Zeeman during the season where her child dies and she donates the child’s heart! All these women are sobbing in their film clips for the Emmys, and here I am jumping out of a cake with sparklers! (See Rena’s cake scene in General Hospital here) So when they called my name I was in complete shock. But it was such confirmation that I had done what an actor is supposed to do—I had literally changed who I was for a role so much that 당신 couldn’t see the seams.
Diane: 당신 were so incredibly fresh in that role. 당신 were on 불, 화재 in those scenes, compared to the “soap-opera type” of 연기 that we see in those shows sometimes that can become a bit stale. Are there any dream roles that 당신 still wish 당신 could tackle? Have 당신 ever done a gritty 또는 very evil role?
Rena: I auditioned once and almost got the role of a cop. But the producer said, “You did great in the audition, but 당신 just don’t look like you’ve worked a 일 in your life.”
Diane: Ouch—you shouldn’t have washed hair that day!
Rena: I know! So one of the roles I’d 사랑 to play is a New York cop—an inner city detective. I’ve played a lawyer on NCIS, and I loved that character. I felt really connected to the role, and I’d 사랑 to explore characters like that more. But sometimes when I’ve read for a role and really felt like I understood the character, it became 더 많이 about which celebrity is going to get the part, rather than the working stiff actor. Yet I have to say, playing 퀸 Eva on Once Upon a Time is a dream-come-true kind of role for me. The way they write the role, and wearing the costume, is wonderful. A lot of what helps me play a character is the outfit. If 당신 can totally change the way 당신 look and speak to be a character, the transformation becomes even 더 많이 complete. So with Lois and her Brooklyn accent and way of dressing, I could become someone very different than myself, and it’s the same with 퀸 Eva.
Diane: Did 당신 change your voice to become 퀸 Eva as well? How did 당신 alter yourself 또는 carriage to inhabit her?
Rena: Well, when the 글쓰기 is this good, 당신 don’t need to do as much work as 당신 might think to become the character. It just becomes natural and 당신 really let the words flow right through you. And of course, then there’s all the support around 당신 on the set—the costuming, the lighting, along with the terrific writing. I even had that amazing wig with an incredible tiara that helped me become the role, and I have very short hair! So that whole process put together helped me transform to become her. At first, I came onto the set with a specific understanding of what I wanted to do. But until I stood there, in those clothes and in that environment—that’s when I fully became 퀸 Eva. That’s the magic that sealed the envelope.
Diane: It’s so interesting that 당신 can do a kind of “soul exchange” in that moment.
Rena: Yes, and that’s why certain contemporary parts can be 더 많이 difficult—because 당신 don’t have the costumes and environment to help 당신 get into the role. And sometimes the 글쓰기 is not nearly as good as on Once Upon a Time. So 당신 have to 검색 inside yourself to make things fresh and believable. I didn’t have that issue with this job!
Diane: Well you’ve certainly worked with some heavy hitters in your career. Are there any 가장 좋아하는 actors that 당신 would still 사랑 to work with?
Rena: Every actor out there would 사랑 to work with Meryl Streep for the simple fact of being able to watch her in action. But to tell 당신 the truth, my penultimate dream—as in, “I could die now because this happened”—would be to be directed 의해 Quentin Tarantino.
Diane: What a fascinating answer! He’s so interesting and 당신 never know what he’s going to do next.
Rena: Yes, and I’d 사랑 for Quentin Tarantino to just say “Do this!” Of course, I’d be thinking, “Okay, I don’t have any idea what this is, I don’t even understand it—but I’m going to do it!” To engage in that artistic process would be amazing. So I have to say, working with a well-known actor isn’t quite as important to me. Sometimes new actors are really terrific. Look at Bailee Madison—she’s phenomenal! And working with Lesley Nicol, who I never knew before Downton Abbey, was just outstanding. I 사랑 the surprise of 연기 sometimes with people 당신 don’t know anything about—just let it come through. And I 사랑 feeling like you’re on an equal playing ground so you’re not nervous about anything. 당신 become totally present for the role.
Diane: Wow, your willingness to take risks is so inspiring, especially for someone like 당신 who kind of stumbled into 연기 in a way. I heard 당신 got your start 의해 being discovered in Greenwich Village at the age of 15 의해 a modeling scout?
Rena: Yes, I was a kid in the Village just hanging out with my friends. This woman approached me from the petite division of the Elite Modeling Agency and asked if I wanted to become a model. So I started with her, but modeling just wasn’t my thing—I didn’t really enjoy it. So she then turned around and said, “What about acting?” I decided to give it a try and started to take 연기 classes, and eventually I got an 연기 coach. That was my beginning.
Diane: And 당신 got your start in soap operas like Loving and General Hospital. Then 당신 won an Emmy! Those shows must have been a good training ground.
Rena: Soaps are a great training ground. Here’s what I have to say about soaps: To me, there are two sides to them. There are people who spend their lives in them, like Susan Lucci, and it’s not a training ground to them—this is their job and their life, and 당신 need to respect that. Then there are the young kids who come on and say, “I just want to be here, make some money, work on my craft, and then go. If you’re going to use it for that purpose, then respect it for that purpose! The problem is that those kids come in and all they care about is the “celebrity” part of the business. They go to the functions and 사랑 having people 엷은 황갈색, 폰은 over them. They learn their lines literally just before they’re going to shoot! And then they either get stuck in soap operas forever and become bitter, 또는 they take off from a show thinking “I’m a celebrity now, here I go!” and no one cares. So my opinion is that soap operas are an amazing opportunity to learn a script a day—every single day! And they force 당신 to learn lines faster than 당신 will in your whole life with no 더 많이 than a couple of takes per scene.
They also teach 당신 how to make dramatic choices quickly and to navigate other people’s choices that 당신 didn’t even see coming. 당신 literally dive headlong into the pool of the 연기 process, and 당신 learn from every talented person who’s there. And then 당신 also get to watch people who maybe aren’t so talented, and 당신 say to yourself, “Okay, maybe that’s what I don’t want to do.” So often people look at soap operas as a kind of summer camp for acting, and they don’t take them as seriously as they should. When I was on my first soap opera Loving, I was only 18 years old—and to be honest, I was just having fun! But when I got the role of Lois on General Hospital, 의해 this point I knew it was a terrific opportunity, and I wanted to make every episode as brilliant as I could.
Diane: Wow, you’d really learned to invest yourself as an actress, hadn’t you?
Rena: Exactly. I’m not saying I thought I was brilliant—I just knew I wanted to make the character of Lois truly shine. And getting to play a character who was so raw and funny opened up a whole new world for me.
Diane: Well, soap opera 팬 are certainly known for their loyalty—I’ve had 프렌즈 who are Ph.D’s in nuclear physics who are addicted to their shows! It can be a surprisingly sophisticated audience. Do 당신 think there will be much of a difference with the 팬 of Once Upon a Time compared to soap operas, 또는 do 당신 think they might have a lot in common?
Rena: I think people like to fall in 사랑 with an ongoing story. Once Upon a Time is really a nighttime soap opera told extremely brilliantly! So original, so fresh. And just like with soaps, you’re hoping that the characters will find each other, fight off evil, and find true love. But not quite yet—because 당신 want the show to keep going and to keep watching! 당신 want it all to come together, yet secretly 당신 don’t.
Diane: Right!
Rena: And soaps are really the same thing—they just have to figure out how to make it run for fifteen years rather than five seasons. But 팬 are fans. People 사랑 their characters and they 사랑 their shows. They totally invest themselves with the time and energy it takes to watch a show faithfully for years, so 당신 really have to deliver. That’s a lot of dedication on their part.
Diane: So I’m curious to know if 당신 developed a big 팬 following before the Emmy award, 또는 did it really balloon after that? Let me tell 당신 why I’m asking—I saw this 팬 site for 당신 called Lady Blue Eyes and they have an astonishing 24,000 이미지 of you! That’s LOYAL— I was floored.
Rena: Oh, the blue eyes fansite is sooo post Emmy! I won the Emmy 18 years ago—I mean, that was before laptop computers! This website is much newer. And speaking of websites, people are always coming up to me and saying I look just like Snow White and that I have beautiful skin—how do I do it? And the answer is a skin product that my facialist for over 14 years developed.
The website is www.dinomorra.com. Just click on “The Boutique” tab, and you’ll see the BON VIVANT collagen body candles I use that come in several beautiful fragrances—blood orange, peony, and vanilla. They’re all-vegetable, animal-free products with no paraffin, and they totally transform skin 의해 infusing it with moisture and collagen.
Diane: Wait a second, are 당신 telling me 당신 play a fairy tale character AND 당신 have a magic candle for women? Talk about casting spells—I 사랑 it!
Rena: Yes! 당신 just light the candle and let it melt, and it makes your room smell wonderful. Then 당신 use a little 주걱 that comes with the product and put it directly on your skin. I’d 사랑 the 팬 to tell me on Twitter what they think of it. (Rena’s handle is @RenaSofer). The metapmorphosis it creates for beautiful skin is incredible.
Diane: Well on the subject of metamorphosis, I adore what 당신 said once in an interview for the film Always and Forever. In that movie, 당신 play a middle-aged woman who dares to find 사랑 again and decides to presss the “reset button” on her life, and 당신 said, “When I turned forty, I realized that I deserve to be who I want to be.” That is such a profound statement about truly inhabiting your own skin. And about summoning up the courage to embrace who 당신 truly are—particularly at the soul level.
Rena: 당신 know, my feeling is this—we spend so much time as women in our lives trying to be what we think we’re supposed to be, pleasing others, 또는 trying to get a man because we think it’s what’s expected of us. And then there’s wanting to be good mother, 또는 attempting to impress the PTA on 상단, 맨 위로 of that. For years—even decades—we might spend all this energy trying to fit in without taking stock of who WE really want to be. And I think something wonderful happens when 당신 turn forty, if 당신 let it. It’s almost like there’s a click in your brain that goes, “Wait a minute—I don’t have to please anybody anymore!”
I really believe 당신 can feel that change and allow that shift. And I’d 사랑 to tell women who are approaching forty, “Don’t freak out about it! 당신 don’t have to go along with what you’ve always been told 또는 even the way think you’re supposed to look.” I mean, I’m 44. I’ve had no plastic surgery, I eat right, I work out. I don’t have to look the way women in their 40s used to look. 당신 can look like me without messing with yourself 또는 your face. But it’s all about feeling good with who 당신 are on the inside. Then look 앞으로 to the opportunity to step into who you’ve always wanted to be! Discover your own personal stardom.
Diane: I 사랑 that line—it’s beautiful!
Rena: 당신 know, they say 40 is the new thirty, where women are really stepping into their own power. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if women started much younger than that? What if, as a society, we got to the point where there are all these empowered women even at twenty? It’s not something to be afraid of. Our personal power is something to embrace. That’s the gift of being a woman—we shine best when we’re unencumbered. And when we take responsibility for what we truly want.
Diane: And how synchronisitic that you’ve taken on the role of royalty—Queen Eva—just as you’re entering a phase of life where 당신 feel you’ve become the most empowered. Full throttle Rena! Thank 당신 so much for this interview—it’s been such a joy to talk with you.
Rena: Any time! Thank 당신 for having me.
