Baelfire Lives! A Chat with Dylan Ray Schmid

Interview by Gareth Hughes

13 year old Dylan Schmid recently got his big break on TV when he was cast opposite the legendary Robert Carlyle to play Rumplestiltskin's son, Baelfire. The storyline proved to be one of the highlights of the first season and also left one of the biggest mysteries, what happened to Baelfire when he went through the vortex? 

Once Upon A Fan recently got the chance to pose a few questions to Dylan about his time on the show, whether he thinks Rumplestiltskin is redeemable and future projects he is involved in.

How did you become involved in Once Upon A Time? Tell us about the audition process and what you went through to get the role?

I became involved with OUAT through a normal audition, and usually how that works is your agent calls and sets up a date and time for that specific meeting. After that I get ready, meaning sometimes I will see an acting coach or sometimes I just learn it and practice it on my own.

When the time comes I take a ferry early in the morning, because I live in Victoria and 90% of the auditions I have are in Vancouver.

After that it was just my lucky day.  I Guess I just fitted the part. 

You worked with some pretty legendary actors during your time on the show in season one? How did it feel to be working with the likes of Robert Carlyle & Brad Dourif? And how were they to work one on one with.

To work with these actors was AMAZING and SO very helpful, for example these actors are legends and to work one on one with them helped me learn to be a much better actor.

To work with Robert was just so much fun! It had it's fun moments and it had intense moments. Robert is quite the funny guy, that goes for Brad as well.

Many fans have theories about what happened to Baelfire when he went through the vortex. What do you think became of him?

Hmm, this one I'm not sure about. The writers of this show are very tricky I would say! 

We really felt you were amazing in the scene were you went through the vortex in ‘The Return’. You mustered up so much emotion and depth in that particular scene. How do you prepare yourself for emotional scenes like that?

One of the reasons I reached those emotions was because of  the set, the actors and just to totally pretend that I am Baelfire in that moment. I want to save my father and this is the only way I can! It's all about give and take as well.

Do you think Baelfire could ever forgive Rumplestiltskin for letting him go and do you think Rumple is a good guy or a bad guy?

I think Bael could never forgive him from the heart, but for them to be together, he would have to. I also think Rumple can be a great guy, the only thing stopping him from being one anymore is this evil power that has overtook him.

Think about it from Rumple's point of view, he risked getting this power to save Baelfire!

Is it difficult dealing with green screen technology? It must be a challenge acting around a set or visual effect that you can’t see.

I didn't  work with much green screen, but from what I've watched it doesn't look that bad! 

Do you have any TV/Movie projects at the moment that you can tell us about?

Well, I did just finish an episode of  "The Haunting Hour."  I'm not totally sure when it is coming out. I'll give you the heads up!

Working on a high profile series like Once Upon a Time would certainly lead to a lot of recognition. Do you find you are recognized more now? How do you keep your feet on the ground with the extra attention at school etc.

I would say a little bit.. But keeping grounded and not being "Narcissistic" is the key!

If you could meet one person. Who would it be and why?

For sure Owen Wilson, for some reason I've always liked him and whenever he is in a movie I've got to see it! There's something about him that just drags me to the screen even if I've seen the movie a billion times. I'd die to work with him in a spy/comedy movie!! 

I also really like Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, and Terry O'Quinn.

Do you watch the show at home and who is your favorite character overall?

Yes in fact I do! I love all the characters. They are all amazing to me.

Have you heard anything about whether your character will be returning for the second season? 

Nope, but that's also for the audience to find out. Even if I did know, I wouldn't want to ruin this amazing adventure you are going on!

We know you have done a lot of theater work. How did you become involved in the acting business? Was acting something you have always wanted to do?

Theater wasn't really my thing personally. I love to be natural and not so... hmm... over the top?  Although theater is very good if you want to improve your acting!

I came into the acting business through a course that I took in L.A.  But before that I was doing short films/theater/Shakespeare.

What are you interests and hobbies outside of acting.

I am quite the people person, so I love to hang out with friends. I also like games, skateboarding, playing the guitar, all that kinda stuff.

What would be your dream acting role?  

My dream role like I kinda said before would to be in a spy/comedy or just a spy movie with Owen Wilson. Or to be in a movie with the three actors I mentioned.


Finally, what would you like to say to all the fans who are reading this interview.

Thanks so much for all your support! This means a lot to me!