“He really is Prince Charming” — that’s what a group of parents said in Steveston last Thursday night when Josh Dallas kept posing for photos with pint-sized fans, as his minder kept repeating that it was time to get the actor back to circus. Dallas posed with at least a dozen kids, who kept scampering under the fan barricades to meet Charming before he left for the night.
Once Upon a Time had put up fan barricades and hired security people on set for the first time ever at their last shoot of the season in Steveston last Thursday. Nice, big, smiley security people who joked with fans and photographers, but still security with a job to do.
It had to happen. With Once Upon a Time such a big hit, the number of fans visiting on location has been growing in leaps and bounds. About 30 fans had turned up to watch a night shoot in Steveston the week before, which made the filming of a big spoiler scene much more difficult. That night, crew arranged a meet and greet with Josh Dallas and some of the other cast on set to thank the fans for supporting the show, and then politely asked them to leave so that they could get back to filming.
This past Thursday, fans at the morning shoot were herded into a small area near where Josh Dallas was shooting a scene of walking to his truck and driving away. After wrapping that scene, the charming Dallas signed autographs and posed for photos with fans, who’d been asked to line up for it. Later that day, similar meet and greets took place with other cast like Eion Bailey, who unfortunately was monopolized by two young women, preventing the kids in line from getting a chance to meet August.
Josh Dallas made sure that didn’t happen at the night shoot. Only kids got their photos taken with him opposite Granny’s Diner after he wrapped for the night. Once his minder finally managed to pull Charming away, crew asked watching fans if anyone wanted to see the next scene close up. If they did, would they mind bringing the barricades with them? So parents and their kids carried the barricades west down Moncton Street to the intersection for the next scene of Lana Parrilla and Jennifer Morrison at the shuttered Storybrooke library.
I’ve never seen so many families at a Vancouver area location shoot. After wrapping the library scene, Lana Parilla did a meet-and-greet with everyone who wanted to meet the Evil Queen — a definite fan favourite among the young set. And then the diminishing crowd moved west again down Moncton Street to Mr. Gold’s pawn shop for the final scenes of the night with Robert Carlyle joining Jennifer Morrison and Lana Parrilla inside. Sometime before midnight, Once Upon a Time called a wrap on its last location shoot for season one in Steveston as Storybrooke.
Wow that says a lot about how much of a real Prince Charming Josh Dallas is and nice of Lana Parilla too! Pretty funny they had the spectators carry the barriers!
Thank you! Alway interesting to get a glimpse at how cast and crew interact with fans on location. So nice of Dallas and Parrilla to make sure the kids got their pictures and meet-and-greet moments even though it must have been a busy day for them. Doesn’t surprise me that Parrilla/EQ is a fan favorite, she’s my favorite too. And good to know Dallas is as charming as his fairy tale alter ego!