From TVLine:
Lost scribes turned Once Upon a Time creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz didn’t have to ask twice when they courted Emilie de Ravin to be the Belle of the fairyland land that was in “Skin Deep,” this Sunday’s episode of the new ABC series.
“They were like, ‘Hey, do you want to play a princess?’ And I’m like, ‘Hell yeah!’” the actress tells TVLine with a laugh.
Though de Ravin notes that she was never the type of little girl to dress as a princess, she counted the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast among her favorites “because it had such a fantastic moral to it. Belle is a strong young woman – there’s nothing insipid about her – and we talked a lot about emphasizing that.”
In this variation on the story, Belle barters herself to the resident “beast” – aka Robert Carlyle’s Rumpelstiltskin – in order to save her father’s life and help their land survive the Ogre War. “She takes this chance to do what she’s always wanted to do, which is be brave and be the hero, even if it means giving up a lot, including her father and her best friend,” says the actress. And Gaston? “Um, Gaston she doesn’t really mind leaving,” de Ravin laughs.
As the episode’s title indicates, Belle’s relationship with Rumple will demonstrate “that love is not skin deep,” de Ravin previews. “Their relationship starts off with fear on her behalf and him not knowing how to deal with this chick in his castle. But as she becomes more relaxed, that interests and amuses him. He sees that she can be this kind of doting, sweet girl.”
As a result of this mutual eye-opening, “There is a progression from friendship to something maybe more,” de Ravin teases.
