MRJ apparently stopped by the acting school in Vancouver–he is one of the “craft” type actors who take it seriously (as do a lot of the cast). His tendency to say “I” is kind of funny when speaking about his character. That suggests he is a bit of a method actor, who are notorious for not dropping character at all.
I know MRJ has worked with dialect coaches to master a cajun accent for a role before. I think he does put a lot of thought into trying to make Neal seem like a real guy who grew on the streets since 14, but has these repressed memories of this other fantastical life. Some people who immigrate assimilate completely, others retain a lot of their culture/accent. I think for Bae’s situation, he wanted to vanish and not be found so it makes perfect sense he tried to blend in and scrubbed away his enchanted past. I’ve seen people comment on how different Bae and Neal are, but I feel that’s a deliberate choice on the part of the directors and actor to reflect what this character has gone through.
At the same time, now that Neal is in the Enchanted Forrest again, I love seeing the actor bring a bit more of the fantasy element to his portrayal of Baelfire. The whole ninja move with the staff was awesome! I definitely want to see Neal bringing something to our little FairyTale Avenger team. I’m not sure what skills he has to offer, but he also spent a lot of time on that island and it is time we learned how he escaped (and resolve T-Word headaches about when that was!).
I have a feeling the writers will not make it easy for Neal to get to NL though.
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” -- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass