Keck's Exclusives: Once Upon a Time's Emilie de Ravin Discusses Sunday's Big Belle Episode

Most every actor on ABC's Once Upon A Time gets to play dual versions of their characters — in Storybrooke and in Fairytale Land. But on this Sunday's episode, tilted "Lacey," Emilie de Ravin will take on yet a third persona. With the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) having filled Belle's head with cursed memories (as she did with all the characters upon their arrivals in Storybrooke), the formerly sweet character is now parading around town as some saucy harlot named Lacey. Watch for Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) to turn to David (Josh Dallas) in his attempt to restore his lost love's memories. 

For de Ravin, the storyline has proven to be a fun change of pace. "On this show you already get to play two different characters and now I get to play three," says the Australian actress, who describes her newest alter as "debaucherous. While Belle would have a cup of tea, Lacey would have a double whiskey on the rocks. She talks with more slang, feels comfortable with her sexuality and doesn't care what people think. She's described in the script as a 'scantily-clad bar whore.'"

But this isn't the first time de Ravin has been asked to act out a sudden personality change. Back on Lost, Once Upon A Time executive producers Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz wrote a storyline for de Ravin's Claire that found the character returning to her friends just slightly off after being imprisoned. (Remember Claire's squirrel baby?) "What are these guys doing to me?" de Ravin asks with a laugh. "Claire didn't come back too well emotionally, and Mr. Gold is [experiencing] a Belle who no longer loves him."

When I visited the Vancouver set earlier this month for the shooting of the May 12 two-hour finale, I left with the impression that the Lacey saga may not be resolved until season's end. To that, de Ravin says, "There is definitely a resolution in the finale and a part of the story between Mr. Gold and my character that's really beautiful. But as true love is, it's never an easy path. Let's put it that way."

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