Michael Raymond-James on Neal's S3 Journey

Once Upon A Time: Michael Raymond-James On Neal’s Season 3 Journey

Michael Raymond-James first came to Once Upon A Time with a brief appearance at the start of Season 2, and as the season progressed, we learned that he was not only the father of Henry, but also the son of Rumpelstiltskin — Baelfire, all grown up. Unfortunately, after a family reunion, the character, now calling himself “Neal,” was sent into a portal, seemingly to his death… instead, he ended up back in the Fairy Tale world, alongside characters such as Aurora, Mulan, and Robin Hood.

“It’s pretty great, right? For him, it’s like meeting a bunch of famous people. It sure beats the alternative of having died in the portal, so I think he’s pretty stoked to have a second opportunity to make good on what he needs to do,” Raymond-James said to us when we interviewed him recently at the Once Upon A Time studio in Vancouver. Of course, it’s not all fun and games in a fairy tale world — Neal’s son, Henry, is lost somewhere in Neverland, and he’s had to even resort to magic in order to rescue him and help his loved ones. “[Neal was] willing to move heaven and **** to get back to Storybrooke where I thought they were, and now I discover that the stakes are even higher; that they’re in this really tough neighborhood. And I also have some experience there. I know how to operate a little bit in Neverland,” he says. “It’s my son. And it’s the woman that I love. And I can’t sit idly by. I need to get there,” he says of what’s bringing Neal to Neverland. Assuming he gets there safely, achieving the goal of finding Henry won’t be easy. “One of the things about this show, is that once one problem is solved, it leads to seven more problems that you weren’t even aware of. So, there’s no shortage of obstacles,” he says.

Assuming the theoretical notion that Neal does make it to Neverland, will he take kindly to the notion that Captain Hook, who Baelfire knew when he was a young boy, is now putting the moves on Emma? Look. I don’t think Neal is under any kind of illusions that there isn’t work to be done between he and Emma,” he says, “and that he doesn’t have a lot of work to do to get to where he wants to be, in terms of their relationship. He’s not expecting her to just be waiting around, pining,” he tells us. With that said, though, he does see Neal’s recent acknowledgement of his feelings — and his desire for family — to be a driving force.

“I think that’s his journey,” Michael says. “Since he was a little boy at age 13 and his father let him go down the portal, he’s been kind of a loner, and had to make himself a life in these strange worlds, but he never fit in to any place. So that’s always been his thing; to try to cobble together a sense of family, a sense of belonging, a sense of ‘this is where I’m supposed to be in the world.’ Ever since then. And as such, following one’s heart in that way, there’s gonna be missteps along the way, but I think at this moment, he’s never had the kind of clarity that he has right now. Being a father is the most important thing to him, and just having been able to admit these feelings to the woman that I love, and have them reciprocated… it gives a laser sense of clarity. For the first time, he really knows exactly where he needs to go and what he needs to do to get there. He hasn’t had that before. He’s always been drifting, trying to make a life.”