In Season 2, Emmy-award winning actress Rena Sofer joins the Once Upon a Time cast as Snow White’s mother Queen 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 recitazione 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 Queen Eva, Snow White’s mother, in Season 2—have te filmed the episode already?
Rena: Yes, we have!
Diane: te appear in flashbacks in this episode slated for early March. I’ve seen te in a promotional foto 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? o are te 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, o does she have secret evil intentions?
Rena: No, I don’t perceive my character as evil. I don’t know the plans of the mostra in the future, o 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 te 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 detto in an earlier interview that te have “a surprising connection to someone else in our world.” I’m hoping that means you’ll be in più episodes then?
Rena: That would be great! But I don’t know quite yet.
Diane: As far as viewers are concerned, we do know te 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 mostra 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 te go. I don’t know for certain, but never say never.
Diane: When te 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 te know, she’s seven and not a girly girl. She’s a real tomboy, and she doesn’t like fairy tales o princesses, but she LOVES the show.
Diane: Now what about you—did te 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 te in that spectacular red dress. Is there some part of te that enjoys dressing up as if te 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 più than once—the più 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 secondo because just to wear one of those outfits was a blessing.
Diane: Has anyone ever told te that te resemble Vivian Leigh? In that spectacular red dress da Eduardo Castro with your regal bearing, te really reminded me of her. te have that same kind of wonderful screen presence.
Rena: Thank te so much!
Diane: Did te audition for this role, o did they just give te 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 o two later my agent called and detto 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! te really do have a resemblance to Ginnifer Goodwin and Bailee Madison—it almost seems fated that te 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 Televisione 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: te know, if the cast is kind, then it’s always easy. As actors, we morph in and out of places—we’re nomads, and te 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 te don’t play a very important part in the complessivamente, generale 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 mostra 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 te da 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 Queen 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 te 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 giorno 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 mostra 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 fan of the show! But this has happened to te a lot—you’ve worked with everyone from Jerry Seinfeld to Edward Norton. Have te had any huge, star-struck moments, o do te just try to stay in your work “zone”?
Rena: Well, I try not to get too stella, star struck because I don’t think it’s very becoming on a person. But on the other hand, I also realize that when te pretend to act “cool”, as though the person in front of te doesn’t really matter, you’re actually doing yourself a disservice. I think the greatest thing te can do as an actor is to look the other person in the eye and say, “I’m a huge fan 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 da the fact that te 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 te play roles like Heidi Petrelli, the politician’s wife in Heroes where te are very serious and dramatic. Your range is huge! What was it like to win that Emmy for your Televisione 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 più than I’ve ever understood anybody.
Diane: How is that possible? She’s not like te 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 Scrivere 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 attrici 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 te couldn’t see the seams.
Diane: te were so incredibly fresh in that role. te were on fuoco in those scenes, compared to the “soap-opera type” of recitazione that we see in those shows sometimes that can become a bit stale. Are there any dream roles that te still wish te could tackle? Have te ever done a gritty o 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 te just don’t look like you’ve worked a giorno in your life.”
Diane: Ouch—you shouldn’t have washed hair that day!
Rena: I know! So one of the roles I’d Amore 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 Amore 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 più about which celebrity is going to get the part, rather than the working stiff actor. Yet I have to say, playing Queen 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 te can totally change the way te look and speak to be a character, the transformation becomes even più 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 Queen Eva.
Diane: Did te change your voice to become Queen Eva as well? How did te alter yourself o carriage to inhabit her?
Rena: Well, when the Scrivere is this good, te don’t need to do as much work as te might think to become the character. It just becomes natural and te really let the words flow right through you. And of course, then there’s all the support around te 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 Queen Eva. That’s the magic that sealed the envelope.
Diane: It’s so interesting that te can do a kind of “soul exchange” in that moment.
Rena: Yes, and that’s why certain contemporary parts can be più difficult—because te don’t have the costumes and environment to help te get into the role. And sometimes the Scrivere is not nearly as good as on Once Upon a Time. So te have to cerca 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 preferito actors that te would still Amore to work with?
Rena: Every actor out there would Amore to work with Meryl Streep for the simple fact of being able to watch her in action. But to tell te the truth, my penultimate dream—as in, “I could die now because this happened”—would be to be directed da Quentin Tarantino.
Diane: What a fascinating answer! He’s so interesting and te never know what he’s going to do next.
Rena: Yes, and I’d Amore 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 Amore the surprise of recitazione sometimes with people te don’t know anything about—just let it come through. And I Amore feeling like you’re on an equal playing ground so you’re not nervous about anything. te become totally present for the role.
Diane: Wow, your willingness to take risks is so inspiring, especially for someone like te who kind of stumbled into recitazione in a way. I heard te got your start da being discovered in Greenwich Village at the age of 15 da 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 recitazione classes, and eventually I got an recitazione coach. That was my beginning.
Diane: And te got your start in soap operas like Loving and General Hospital. Then te 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 te 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 Amore having people cerbiatto, fawn 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, o they take off from a mostra 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 te to learn lines faster than te will in your whole life with no più than a couple of takes per scene.
They also teach te how to make dramatic choices quickly and to navigate other people’s choices that te didn’t even see coming. te literally dive headlong into the pool of the recitazione process, and te learn from every talented person who’s there. And then te also get to watch people who maybe aren’t so talented, and te 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, da 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 fan are certainly known for their loyalty—I’ve had Friends who are Ph.D’s in nuclear physics who are addicted to their shows! It can be a surprisingly sophisticated audience. Do te think there will be much of a difference with the fan of Once Upon a Time compared to soap operas, o do te think they might have a lot in common?
Rena: I think people like to fall in Amore 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 te want the mostra to keep going and to keep watching! te want it all to come together, yet secretly te 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 fan are fans. People Amore their characters and they Amore their shows. They totally invest themselves with the time and energy it takes to watch a mostra faithfully for years, so te really have to deliver. That’s a lot of dedication on their part.
Diane: So I’m curious to know if te developed a big fan following before the Emmy award, o did it really balloon after that? Let me tell te why I’m asking—I saw this fan site for te called Lady Blue Eyes and they have an astonishing 24,000 immagini 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 da infusing it with moisture and collagen.
Diane: Wait a second, are te telling me te play a fairy tale character AND te have a magic candle for women? Talk about casting spells—I Amore it!
Rena: Yes! te just light the candle and let it melt, and it makes your room smell wonderful. Then te use a little spatola that comes with the product and put it directly on your skin. I’d Amore the fan 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 te detto once in an interview for the film Always and Forever. In that movie, te play a middle-aged woman who dares to find Amore again and decides to presss the “reset button” on her life, and te 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 te truly are—particularly at the soul level.
Rena: te 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, o trying to get a man because we think it’s what’s expected of us. And then there’s wanting to be good mother, o attempting to impress the PTA on superiore, in alto 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 te turn forty, if te 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 te can feel that change and allow that shift. And I’d Amore to tell women who are approaching forty, “Don’t freak out about it! te don’t have to go along with what you’ve always been told o 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. te can look like me without messing with yourself o your face. But it’s all about feeling good with who te are on the inside. Then look inoltrare, avanti to the opportunity to step into who you’ve always wanted to be! Discover your own personal stardom.
Diane: I Amore that line—it’s beautiful!
Rena: te 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 te feel you’ve become the most empowered. Full throttle Rena! Thank te so much for this interview—it’s been such a joy to talk with you.
Rena: Any time! Thank te for having me.
