It was tough to watch "Once Upon a Time's" Regina and Robin Hood part ways last year on the ABC show.
And since that moment aired, Sean Maguire, who plays "Once's" noble thief-with-a-cause, has heard from plenty of fans who want him to get the Regina/Robin romance back on.
"People keep coming up to me in the street and saying, 'You go back to that Regina,'" Sean told Access Hollywood. "And I'm like, 'You know I have no control over the writing of the show. I'm just an actor.' And they're like, 'Yeah, but just get back with her.'"
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While he may have no control over the plot twists, Sean too would like to see the characters back together.
"I think a large portion of the audience want to see them back together, and as a fan of the show, so do I, but there's some tricky things that have to be navigated before Robin and Regina could ever be back together, namely the fact that obviously Marian is alive and well again, so he's got a difficult path ahead," Sean said.
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Speaking of Marian, Robin is currently in New York City with his back-from-the-dead wife, and their son, a choice he made to save Marian's life (to take her from a land with magic to one without). This Sunday's episode will not only journey to NYC to look in on how Robin and family are handling their new life, but it will also go back in time, for an origin story on how Robin became Robin Hood. Sean previewed the twists with Access Hollywood.
AccessHollywood.com: Ever since you joined the cast of the show, [when] I talk to people, I ask them if you sing behind the scenes, because I know you had a music career in Britain. Do you actually do any singing [on set]?
Sean Maguire: Not very often. Colin [O'Donoghue, who plays Hook] and I sometimes mess about and sing a bit on set, but really just kind of messing and joking, although Colin did get up and sing with me at my wedding over Christmas, so we do sometimes sing, but we try not to do it on set too often because people are trying to get on with their day (laughs). But once in a blue moon, yeah, me and Colin will bust out a little number.
Access: I spoke to him the other week and he was telling me he's worked up quite the back catalogue of '80s hits for when he puts on the old school Hook coat. Are you involved in that? I think he does Prince songs as well.
Sean: He does. Well Colin's actually a ridiculously talented musician, far, far more talented than I have ever been or would ever hope to be, but it's more just, you know, when you have 12 hour days or 15 hour days or something and you're standing around in the cold, sometimes just silliness in whatever form just makes the day pass a little quicker. … We're not looking to form a band or anything. I think it's just a bit of fun to pass the time and be silly.
Access: And there was a storyline in one of the most recent episodes, where Ursula was singing to men on the ship to help them work. Connections there.
Sean: Exactly. I think sometimes art imitates life.
READ: 'Once Upon A Time' Q&A: Colin O'Donoghue On Hook, Ursula & Protecting Emma
Access: Definitely. So how has Robin been adjusting to life outside of Storybrooke?
Sean: Not brilliantly. I think he's a little overwhelmed by New York and also overwhelmed by the fact that he'd just come to the decision that he was in love with Regina… and I think Marian, obviously is aware of that. But then, because of what happened with Marian, even though he wanted to follow his heart, he's also -- at his core, most importantly -- a decent man and would do the right thing, so he denies what his heart wants to do the right thing and to keep Marian safe. But... what does one do when you have to leave the person you're in love with because you know that you have to do the honorable thing? It's not black and white and what's interesting is he's not cartoon Robin Hood. He's a real guy and he has real feelings and even though he's honorable and decent, it's very difficult to tell your heart not to want what it wants. So we're going to explore that a little bit in this episode and it's funny, I know some people said, 'Yeah, we know what's coming. We already know.' And the thing is, people think that they know what the twist is, but they don't. There's another twist to come that nobody knows about and I think it's gonna shock a few people.
Access: Interesting. … I'm just curious – do you think Robin and Marian are going through counseling, maybe visiting a therapist in New York and sitting on a couch together?
Sean: (laughs) I think that they probably do need some counseling, yeah. As you watch the episode, you'll sort of see this is a couple who probably need a little bit of help here. Things don't look like they're going too good. But, given the circumstances they've gone through, I don't know many couples that would be dealing with it well. I mean, they're kind of unusual circumstances, but, you know, that's what this episode sort of delves into is the origin of Robin and why he is the way he is and how his life came to be the way that it is. But it's also about a guy in crisis trying to do the right thing morally, but also do what his heart is telling him, so he's in a really, really tricky situation.
Access: Before we get into the backstory, obviously there were photos that came out of your character chasing a purse snatcher in New York City. Is he finding the crime of the real world to be very unsettling compared to the stuff he's had to deal with or…?
Sean: I think what we see is, right from the get go, at the beginning of the episode, that, kind of, 'We're not in Kansas anymore.' (laughs) Yes, there [are] purse snatchers and things like that, but Robin is used to criminals, he's used to thieves, he's used to people doing dodgy deals, but I think he comes from a different world where the honor is still present even among thieves and in the modern world, obviously not so much, and that's just another thing to add to the already confused kind of world that he's currently finding himself in. … If I had to sort of sum it up -- it's a lot to do with a guy in crisis and how does one navigate himself to doing what's right and also what will hopefully make him happy.
Access: As you talk about this [I can't help but think] about your character in New York and how much Bravo would probably want to put at least Marian on a 'Real Housewives.'
Sean: (laughs) Do you know what? Marian would probably be very good on 'The Real Housewives.' She'd certainly have a more interesting backstory than the current ones, I'm guessing -- unless any of them have come back from the dead. I'm not sure, I haven't watched the show. But yeah, she'd certainly make an interesting candidate for one of those shows.
Access: Definitely. So with the backstory, we get Rebecca Mader back on the show, which is really fun, but [it also means] sending your character to Oz, which is very interesting. Could you have ever [imagined] that Robin would be going to Oz?
Sean: No, I didn't and Rebecca and I are really good, close friends, but we've not really had an awful lot of screen time together up until now, so it's kind of interesting to see iconic characters like Robin Hood and the Wicked Witch from Oz sort of facing off, but I think that's one of the kind of beautiful, clever things about the show is it takes iconic characters like that and then puts them in situations we could never have imagined them in before, and seeing how that would play out is, I think, one of the great appeals of the show.
Access: Yeah. Now are there other Oz characters we'll get to see you interact with? There [are] plenty of possibilities out there.
Sean: What's interesting is this episode is part in the current timeline, but it's also part flashback, and because of the flashback, we actually see the origin of not just how Robin became Robin Hood, but also the origin of a friendship with Will Scarlett as well and why Robin has a sort of brotherly, affectionate feeling towards Will Scarlett. We kind of delve into that a little bit as well and there's also the Sheriff of Nottingham coming back as well, played by the brilliant Will Traval, so there's quite a few beginnings and reappearances from old characters that we haven't seen for a little while.
continues Sunday at 8/7c on ABC.
-- Jolie Lash
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