ONCE UPON A TIME: Georgina Haig on Wearing Elsa’s Dress, and Being Like Santa to Children

Georgina Haig (Elsa) has easily fit into the ONCE UPON A TIME family, but as surreal as it might be for some FROZEN fans to see the character come to life on the ABC drama, Haig admitted the magic wasn’t lost on her the first time she saw Elsa’s trademark dress, either.

“I was in the costume department and the crazy thing was they had made this dress based on not knowing who was gonna be cast,” Haig recalled while speaking to reporters on the show’s Vancouver set. “Because that’s how fast they have to work — I only got cast a week before we were shooting and obviously it’s quite a complex dress, they had to start it earlier than that. So anyway, I got in it and they kind of pinned it all in and it was just kinda magic seeing it. Because… I don’t know! It’s so beautiful and it’s real crystals and it’s right out of the cartoon, you know, as well. They modeled it so precisely, which is very difficult to make something a human can move in that is coming off a cartoon. That’s not easy. Yeah, so I was just kinda in awe of the whole department when I put it on and they’ve just kinda improved it more and more. They’ve changed the shape of the corset and… yeah. treacherous. They had to replicate this fabric, so they had to get it all hand-beaded in LA. I think [costume designer] Eduardo [Castro] calls it ‘the treacherous dress’ because it is an amazing amount of work, a lot of people go into making this dress.”

Of course, as gorgeous as the dress is, Haig acknowledged that its practicality is rather limited.

“I get caught on a lot of trees!” she laughed “I’ve definitely ripped it and I’ve definitely gotten mud all the way up to my knees in it and I just feel terrible handing it over at the end of the night being like, ‘Oh, good luck with that.’ Imagine wearing a wedding dress every day in your normal life; that is what it’s like wearing this every day and I’ve kinda gotten used to it. But yeah, people stand on the cape for the whole time [we’re filming] then it’s always [messy]… I’ve learned how to kinda maneuver it around and tie it in knots and do what I need to do.”

But Haig did admit that the costume has made her very popular with kids…though they haven’t yet been able to recognize her when she’s out and about.

“No, [I’m not recognized] when I’m not in costume, which is really interesting and I’m kinda glad, because for me I feel like it is quite a transformation,” Haig said. “I spend two hours in hair and makeup. They add in all these hair extensions. The makeup itself is very specific to her. So I kinda like no one has yet. But when I’m her, it’s like being Santa Claus. Kids kinda just can’t believe it. It’s gorgeous. This one little girl, we were [filming] in Steveston, and she was in the dentist and she was looking all gloomy and I could see her through the window and I just thought, ‘Oh, I’ll just see if I can catch her eye and give her a wave,’ and sure enough, she turned around and I waved to her and she just looked looked gobsmacked and all of a sudden this huge grin came over her face and I think she completely forgot about being at the dentist so that felt pretty good…People come and watch in Steveston [so] we go up to the little kids. Or people on set bring their kids and it’s lovely to go up and kinda get to be her for them. It’s a lovely, fun thing.”

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ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8 PM on ABC.

Related:

ONCE UPON A TIME: Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle, and Georgina Haig on the Fight to Control Emma’s Powers
ONCE UPON A TIME: ‘The Snow Queen’ Photos
ONCE UPON A TIME: Robert Carlyle on Rumple’s Lies to Belle

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