Just how dedicated is actor Kristin Bauer when it comes to her fan favorite role of Pam on TRUE BLOOD? So much so that unlike many actors who consciously make an effort to tackle roles completely different than their regular series gig while on hiatus, Bauer prefers to stay in character. Which is precisely why tonight sees her brushing up on her bitchiness by stepping into the stilettos of one of Hollywood’s most iconic evil queens: Maleficent, the mistress of all evil.
See for yourself what she had to say about the role in addition to Maleficent’s similarities to TRUE BLOOD’s Pam, after the jump.
How familiar were you with Maleficent prior to accepting this role on ONCE UPON A TIME?
Kristin Bauer: I believe the last time I saw Sleeping Beauty I was seven, but we all remember her, I mean she was so amazing. I went to YouTube, watched some clips, read the story online and then I said to my husband, “My God!” For little kids, it’s kind of amazing how frightening she is.
What can you tell us about Maleficent’s relationship with Lana Parrilla’s Evil Queen?
The most interesting thing about their relationship is that the writers decided to make them frenemies. It’s just a minefield of evil goodness. It was me, Lana Parrilla and a green screen and we just had so much fun. Two chicks who are loving playing bitches, who liked each other and went, let’s just play chess. The great thing about playing with another person who is a good player is that you don’t always have to play the obvious and hopefully, what we did is put in different colors that show a history. These two chicks have known each other a long time and they’ve been coveting each other, helping each other and probably backstabbing each other quite often. We tried to get all that in there and we’ll see on Sunday if we succeeded.
How would you compare Maleficent to your other current role, that of Pam on TRUE BLOOD?
I’m not exactly sure yet. But so far there are a couple of difference in how I played it. Pam is very sarcastic and what you see is what you get. Pam to me is one of the only people who always tells the truth at this point, doesn’t suffer fools and doesn’t worry about being liked at all. When we get into the fairytale world with Maleficent it feels like we could have a bit more game playing and a bit more things are not as they appear.
One of the first things that popped into our mind when we heard about you playing opposite Lana Parrilla is the musical Wicked. Does the episode reveal a backstory as to how the Queen became so evil?
It’s a bit like TRUE BLOOD in the sense that the revealing of the characters comes from putting them in situations and the characters have to react. It’s very good, but not obvious writing which I really really enjoy. It feels to me that over time you’re going to get little pieces and morsels of the puzzle in terms of who these woman are and I do think there is a parallel to Wicked in the way they interact. Hopefully I’ll be able to do more of the show, because the backstory is so juicy.
Does the episode leave things open so that you might return?
Having just recently received the script for [TRUE BLOOD] episode 501 in my inbox, it will just depend on the writers and the shooting schedule. But there are a few months of the year when TRUE BLOOOD is not shooting and ONCE UPON A TIME is so I’m hopefully. I think i’ve found a niche for the moment that I just love and it’s called bitch… and also evil!
In last weeks pilot we came to learn that every Fairytale character has a “Storybrooke, Maine” counterpart. Will we get to meet Maleficent’s real-life counterpart on Sunday?
I can only hope and have been imagining what that would be and chuckling inside my head. I think it would be fun to have her be something completely opposite of what we would imagine. For some reason I thought librarian and maybe that’s because we always have that weird thing where we think librarians have this complete alter ego underneath!
Did you get to interact with any character outside of the Evil Queen?
Not as of yet.
And lastly, since you already alluded to receiving the first script, we can’t let you go without asking about TRUE BLOOD. Is there anything you can tease about the upcoming fifth season?
Well, I’ll tell you, reading 501 I think literally my mouth was hanging open. I’ve been waiting, like the fans have been waiting to find out where all those cliffhangers are going to launch us and the seeds that have been planted in the first episode back launch us into a very interesting place. I just can’t wait to get in there and start shooting these scenes, also I sent a very quick email to Audrey Fisher, our costume designer asking “What am I going to be wearing?!” You know, the real important questions! 
ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8PM on ABC (CTV in Canada) Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv
Photo Credit: Entertainment Weekly