Becoming Wendy - A Chat with Freya Tingley

By Amy Hood - @Amylia403

 In Season Three, fans of Once Upon a Time were treated to a complete twist on the Peter Pan tale. An iconic part of that story was of course, the Darling family! I had a chance to chat with actress Freya Tingley (Wendy Darling) recently and got to hear her thoughts on acting, TV vs. film, and of course, Once Upon a Time! 

The OUAT community absolutely loved your portrayal of Wendy. Were you familiar with the show prior to getting the part? 

No! I had heard of the show but hadn't seen it! I had however seen it up on Netflix and was intrigued

Can you share with us how the audition process went for the role of Wendy?

I did one audition and within the week I got a call saying I had booked the role!

Wow! That is amazing to be booked after only one audition.  Everyone is wondering if we will get to see Wendy again. The Darling family are such an iconic group for both literary and Disney fandoms. We’d love to see more of them. 

 I get quite a few tweets from OUAT fans asking me if I will be coming back as Wendy! Unfortunately I don't know the answer to that but it was a fun set to work on and I would love to come back!

Many of the ONCE fandom knew you from Hemlock Grove, which has kind of picked up a cult following of its own. Does the process you go through to prepare for different roles very based on the character you will be playing? Do you approach them any differently?

Ultimately, the goal is to obtain as much reality as possible on the character so that I can fully understand and then BE that person! Sometimes that's instantaneous and sometimes that's not! If not, I will take the path that leads me to understanding the character better, whether it be looking at YouTube videos, reading books, researching websites, taking Meth... Ha Ha just joking! Whether it requires research or not It's all about understanding the character first and foremost! 

I love the fact that you really try and get into your characters with so much research. Such a testament to the work that goes into a role before fans ever see it. You also appear on the big screen in Clint Eastwood’s film adaptation of Jersey Boys. How was the experience working on such a high profile project?

It was one of the best and most memorable experiences! Clint doesn't call action, he would just say 'Go' or 'Go when you're ready' which I really liked as it doesn't make you feel rushed and makes you feel more relaxed!

Do you prefer big screen to television work? 

 I love both! 2 years ago I would have said film but there seems to be a golden era in television at the moment and a lot of the quality scripts and interesting characters are showing up in TV.

There have been some really great roles and shows coming along in television. It is an exciting time to be a fan. Sometimes you can’t decide what to watch. Do you have a dream role that you would love to play one day?

 I don't have a particular dream role that I would like to play more than any other role as my aim as an actress is to play a multitude of characters! One of the things I love most about acting is the creativity involved with becoming and transforming into many different personalities!

Another project you have out right now is the television movie, The Choking Game. Can you tell us a little bit about that project?


The Choking Game is a film I did about a young girl (Taryn) who befriends the new girl (Nina) who teaches her about choking herself to cut off the oxygen to her brain in order to bring about a sense of euphoria. 

That is definitely a timely piece given the news stories we see around the world today. Do you have any other upcoming projects the ONCE community should keep an eye on? 


I'm about to start shooting an indie film called No Way To Live with two super talented director/writers! It's an unbelievable script that I'm really excited about!

I can’t wait to hear more about that when you get started. Finally is there anything you would like to say to the fan community?

Thank you Oncers for being such kind and avid supporters of the show! Keep watching! :)

We definitely will. Thank you so much for such a fun interview!

Fans can follow Freya on Twitter: @FreyaTingley