A new iteration of Cinderella is coming toOnce Upon a Timein season 7.
There was the iconic 1950 Disney classic animated version.
And the 1997 TV movie-musical starring Brandy Norwood as the titular character.
Credit: Eike Schroter/ABC
How about Hilary Duffs modern take inA Cinderella Story.
And theres the recent live-action film starring Lily James.
And, of course, we met the aforementioned version of the character in season 1 ofOUAT.
The list goes on and on.
West), who has been in search of his story after leaving Storybrooke.
To get some insight on that, EW sat down with Ramirez on the set ofOUAT.
Its still someone that has gone through a great deal of pain and maybe rejection.
For Jacinda in the real world, youre picking her up a few years later.
So the biggest difference between Jacinda and Cinderella is that Jacinda has a daughter.
I think theres a lot of pain and struggle that shes been through in her life.
Unlike other Cinderella stories, shes not a damsel in distress.
Its a different dynamic.
Its still almost like a bickering dynamic.
Thats whats going to keep us throughout the season.
I think were about to take a really beautiful journey together.
I light a fire within him.
Its that love at first sight moment, although our love at first sight is cut very short.
Hes still on the path of finding his own story and very childlike in that way.
We have these similarities in both worlds.
Lady Tremaine is my stepmother and in the fairy-tale world, its very unfortunate for Cinderella.
I think thats the same dynamic that were going to see here.
I think Gabrielle Anwar is a phenomenal actress.
I get the chance to have her as my stepmother.
She is deliciously evil.
So we dont like each other.
Lucys very much a believer.
Jacinda and Sabine, a.k.a Princess Tiana (Mekia Cox), are roommates in Hyperion Heights.
Whats their dynamic like?Theyre real friends.
Youre entering a completely different world.
So in that way, the curse is the same.
In what way is it different?
Its a completely different story.
Youre in a different book.
And again, now were in Hyperion Heights, its not Storybrooke anymore.
And theres technology here this time.Its a lot more modern.
Youre in a city now, and were in a different environment.
The environment seems a lot more matter-of-fact, like real-life, urban, which I like.
Its a different story, a different point of view.
Is Ronis the neighborhood bar that everybody goes to?
Is that like where everybody knows your name?Its the hangout place.
Its the place to be.
Honestly, I feel like I would hang out there.
You just never know.
What was your first day like on set?I couldnt breathe my first day.
I was actually not in the fairy-tale world.
Jacinda has it rough.
I was on vacation before I got this job.
I got pulled out of vacation to come to Vancouver to start shooting right away.
I left my family in Hawaii.
She doesnt know that shes cursed as Jacinda, so that just feels like her life.
Her life is always hectic, and everythings always going wrong.
So it just felt really like life.
Life is hard, right?
Thats also the great thing about my character, shes just really under the radar and different.
Princesses are not what you think they are.
What was it like for you to put on the dress for the first time?The dress?
I mean, come on!
I remember my first fitting.
For my character, I was wearing two of those skirts underneath this massively huge dress.
They did such an incredible job designing and creating the dress.
It was really heavy though, I must say.
So that realization of, Okay, this is going to take a lot.
Im a tomboy in real life.
I had to do all the sword fighting with all these petticoats underneath, and a glass slipper.
So not the most ideal, but its great.
And they called me to come in and test.
Hes from Mexico and was obsessed withOnce Upon a Time.
and it just became such a huge thing for the entire family right before I went to test.
And so we started watching the pilot episode.
Theyre still binge-watching it.
They will continue to be essential characters to the show in season 7.
I just want to go back to what you asked about my first day.
They didnt tell me that it was Cinderella.
They didnt tell me it was the main character.
Thats Henry, thats the little kid.
Hes the one that told me about the kid.
All I know is that they want me to have chemistry with this guy.
As an actress, Im like, Okay, I can have chemistry with a freaking piece of bread.
They felt my vibe.
I ended up flying back the next morning to get to Hawaii.
I have a videotape of this because my husband, before I left, was taping me.
I was very emotional the first day that I came to set.
Maybe, maybe not, who knows.
Thats what I love the most about it.
In my opinion, it just felt really open-minded.
Were telling a love story and telling a real journey of struggle and pain.
And its true, when I was growing up, I knew all these stories.
So I feel like its really groundbreaking.
Once Upon a Timewill return Friday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m.
Check back Monday for our interview with Gabrielle Anwar.
