“Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” has — so far — been set up to chronicle Alice’s journey to find her true love, Cyrus the genie. But lately, it’s been Michael Socha’s The Knave who has been capturing our attention.
The Knave has personally been responsible for adding more danger to Alice’s quest — like when they ran into his vengeful ex-fairy-fling who dropped them into a large body of water, or when the pair had to try and steal a “forget-me-knot” from a man-beast in order to repay one of his debts. He’s been responsible for most of the show’s humor — delivering delicious lines in perilous situations. And, he’s the glue that adheres different sides of the show together — his friend, Alice, and The Red Queen (who was once his adoring wife Anastasia). But don’t try and suggest “Wonderland” has become The Knave’s show.
“No it hasn’t,” Michael protested when AccessHollywood.com spoke to him on Wednesday and made the suggestion. “A couple of episodes have sort of [been] a bit Knave-ish, but everybody gets their little piece. Everyone gets their bit.”
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Getting to play the outlaw has been fun for Michael, who previously starred on BBC America’s “Being Human,” and he admitted he has a lot in common with his “Wonderland” character.
“Yeah, there is. I’m a little bit happier than The Knave. I’m still a piss taker and I am quite sarcastic, I think, and I wear very similar clothes to The Knave, but I think I’m a little bit more positive,” he said. “I try to be.”
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One of burdens his character carries has to do with his wife. The series started out with The Knave talking longingly of his missus Anastasia, before it was eventually revealed that she is not dead, but in fact, The Red Queen (Emma Rigby).
So when did he find out about the twist?
“When I got the episode in,” Michael told Access. “The writers don’t tell us anything. We just get the scripts and just work [off of] that. You hope what you’re portraying is something that relates to your backstory, but it might not be.”
Although he didn’t know for sure, Michael admitted there were theories on set that predicted the twist.
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“I had a little bit of an inkling with that story because… a lot of people on set talk about the scripts — like from your cameramen to your costumes ladies — we’re all talking about it all the time and we’re all wondering what’s going to happen next,” he said. “We’re always very interested and a lot of ‘em were saying, ‘I think you’re with the Queen! I think that you were with the Queen.’ So a lot of people sort of guessed.”
While fans of the show have seen how The Knave and The Red Queen’s relationship is in Wonderland presently (she was willing to watch him be executed in the most recent episode), more of their backstory — when he was just Will, and she sweet Anastasia — is coming.
“In a word, yes you are,” he laughed. “I think [in the] next episode you’re gonna see a little bit more of their past.”
And with that look into the past, there will likely be hints of what went wrong that put Anastasia on the path to becoming The Red Queen.
“Something not very nice. Is that enough? Is that enough for ya’,” Michael laughed.
Asked if it could involve magical creatures, Michael hinted the change may have to do with their own species.
“I don’t know about magical creatures. If humans are creatures still, then yeah. It involves — oh, I don’t want to reveal too much. Yeah, there’s other elements to this doomed fate, I suppose,” he said.
Filming “Once Upon a Time” brought Michael to Vancouver, Canada, but his loved ones back home haven’t had a chance to catch his new project in his native Britain just yet.
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“No, none of me pals have. None of me family and none of me pals. Me mum, bless her, will have a little look on the old Google and figure out what I’m doing, but [she hasn’t] seen any episodes,” he said.
While they haven’t seen the show, the British actor is still on his family’s screen. Well, their phone screens.
“With FaceTime and all that sort stuff… it’s so easy now to get hold of [family]. I’ve just FaceTimed me mother now,” he said.
“I’ve got a little boy in Derby… So I FaceTime him twice a day,” Michael added. “He [doesn’t] quite get it. He gets a bit bored of it, but I still do it.”
“Once Upon a Time in Wonderland” airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.
— Jolie Lash
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