Checking in with Lana Parrilla: Making Magic from Brooklyn to Storybrooke By Anna Ruth Ramos

King’s County native Lana Parrilla talks origins and weighs in if alter ego Regina Mills would have survived Brooklyn

Most famous for her role of Evil Queen in ABC’s primetime show Once Upon a Time, Lana Parrilla is Brooklyn’s talent with a global audience. Parrilla whose parents are both from the Borough of Kings with her Italian mother and Puerto Rican father, the magical star is about as Brooklyn as one can get.

What part of Brooklyn did you grow up in? I grew up in Boerum Hill…Because of my Italian family that lives in Benson Hurst and my Puerto Rican family that lives in Boerum Hill…I was always going back and forth. I feel like I grew up in both parts.

Did you also spend time in LA growing up? Yes, I did. I spent a lot of time [there]. I was pretty bicoastal most of my life.

Did acting happen at any point for you at all here in Brooklyn or was it just in LA: Just in high school [Fort Hamilton High in Bay Ridge]. I wanted to go to La Guardia High and I did everything in my power to make that happen…First of all, [my father] didn’t want me to be an actor. He knew how hard it was. [He] was a professional baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies player Sam Parrilla) and it was hard for him. I think he wanted more of a stable job for me.

On chasing her dreams: I didn’t really get to pursue my dreams until I was about 18 or 19 when I graduated high school and then I was living in LA at that point. I did most of my training and studying in Los Angeles…I did plays in high school in Brooklyn…I saw a ton of plays in Broadway…but I never trained out there [in New York].

On missing New York: I’ve always tried to go back over the years especially when I was in my 20s and early 30s. [Almost taking a role for another show to shoot in location in New York] and when I read Once Upon a Time… (which films in Vancouver) – This role is just a dream come true. It became my number one interest…I’m still always deep down inside wanting to return to New York in some way. I just love New York…I’m still looking at real estate in Brooklyn. It’s amazing. So much has changed.

Would (a younger version of her magical alter ego) Regina Mills survive in Brooklyn at the time and age you were living here? No. No, because I think she was a bit of a princess and I grew up in Brooklyn during the 80s and 90s during the crack epidemic. Yeah, no, I don’t think so…unless she had magic, then maybe.

Where would Regina go? Regina was an adventurer and when she was a kid she really liked the outdoors…I would probably say she would do really well in Benson Hurst…[it] would be really fun for her or Coney Island, if I had to choose Brooklyn. If I wanted to pick a more “princess route,” she would live in Upper West Side since she comes from money.

In incorporating Regina’s childhood with her own: One thing about living in New York is there was always an adventure…Your imagination would run wild. You’re in the city, you had to create these worlds that weren’t there. Brooklyn was its own playground with the fire hydrants in the summers and the street block parties. There’s nothing like that. I don’t even know if it still happens, I’ve been away for so long.

Last 30 seconds: Free Word Association with Lana Parrilla Binge-watching: Saturday afternoons Can’t stop listening: Obsessions Brooklyn: Home

Catch Lana Parrilla on Once Upon a Time returning Sunday, March 6 at 8 pm on ABC.