Pinocchios All Around! Brothers Jakob and Jack Davies Sharing the Classic Role for Once!

By Amy Hood (@amelia403)

Since Season One of Once Upon a Time, Jakob Davies has brought magic to the show in the role of Young Pinocchio. Some of the most iconic and memorable scenes of the show have involved the bond between Geppetto (Tony Amendola) and his son. One thing that holds true in both the real world and in the magical realms of the show, is that kids grow up. What could have posed a problem in flashback scenes has become a fun family affair! Lucky for fan favorite Jakob Davies, he has a younger brother, Jack, who looks very much like him, This led to him being able to help bring Pinocchio back to our screens for the musical episode! 

     If you saw the press release for this week's upcoming musical episode, you may have noticed Jack's name listed as playing Pinocchio. I was curious so I chatted with Jakob about it. (In honesty, I thought the press release had a typo at first!) It turns out, it was a great experience for both brothers!

     "They needed me to be the same size as I was in the pilot and Jack is exactly the same size and age. People say we look a lot alike. Jack has never wanted to act and said no to roles in If I Stay, Hector and The Search For Happiness. He can be shy sometimes and told us he said yes "to keep Pinocchio in the family". I am so proud of him for doing this for me," said older brother Jakob Davies.

     It turns out, Jack has been on the set before, but never in an acting role. In the past, Jack was quite nervous around our lovely Evil Queen, Lana Parrilla when he was younger. Jakob told us "When Once started my brother was really little, and was terrified of Lana. Whenever she came on he would scream 'Black Smoke Witch!' and run out of the room. He came to set with me Season Two or Three. Lana came and found Jack to talk to him, to show him she was not scary. He stopped running out of the room when she came on the TV, but to this day I think she still makes him nervous. It's funny because she is one of the nicest people on the show!"

     When asked what he thought of playing the iconic character that his big brother had played, Jack said he "really liked the costume and everyone was really nice." Jakob was quick to let him know that he could keep the costume...but not the hat... "He is only borrowing my hat....I love the hat" Jakob turned 14 in January, and Jack is 9.

​We cannot wait to see the musical episode and are so happy Jack was able to keep our beloved Pinocchio in the same family. It's rare that an opportunity like this comes up, but luckily, Jack and Jakob were willing to work together and keep the magic for all of us Oncers!