Once Upon a Time Taps True Blood Scene-Stealer Kristin Bauer van Straten as Evil Witch
Once Upon a Time has wrangled Bon Temps’ *****iest vamp to portray one of the fairy tale world’s most infamous villains.
Kristin Bauer van Straten — who plays the scene-stealing Pam De Beaufort on HBO’s True Blood — has landed a guest spot on ABC’s whimsical drama as Maleficent, the evil witch from Sleeping Beauty. The role originally belonged to Paula Marshall (Californication), but TVLine has learned that producers decided to go in a different direction.
The actress first revealed the casting news via Twitter, excitedly announcing, “Packing for Vancouver – to shoot #OnceUponaTime – new fantastical TV show.”
Little is known about what Bauer van Straten’s version of Maleficent will look like (or who she’ll play in the series’ amnesic alterna-world, Storybrooke), but we can confirm that she is slated to appear in Episode 2, which airs on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 8/7c.
Bauer van Straten joins a Season 1 guest cast that also includes Alan Dale (Lost) as Prince Charming’s pops, Jessy Schram (Falling Skies) as the glass slipper-missing Cinderella, David Anders (The Vampire Diaries) as a small town doc, and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) as the sidekick to Lana Parrilla’s Evil Queen.