When Once Upon a Time first landed on ABC, everyone wanted to know how the show would handle the heavy hitters. We’re talking about the icons. You can’t have a show about fairy tales without the woman who literally defines Disney villainy. So, who plays Maleficent in Once Upon a Time? If you’re a casual fan, you might just think of the blonde actress who brought a weirdly sympathetic edge to the dragon-lady. That’s Kristin Bauer van Straten.
But here’s the thing. It wasn't always her.
TV production is messy. Schedules clash. Actors get busy. Most people totally forget that in the very first season, Maleficent was more of a cameo, a literal ghost in the machine of Regina’s vault. Kristin Bauer van Straten eventually became the face we all associate with the role, but the journey to get her there—and keep her there—was kind of a rollercoaster for the writers and the fans.
The Face Behind the Dragon: Kristin Bauer van Straten
Most of us know Kristin from True Blood. She played Pam, the sharp-tongued, pink-wearing vampire who stole every scene she was in. Honestly, that's probably why the creators of Once, Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, wanted her. She has this specific way of delivering a line that feels like a velvet glove over a spiked fist.
When she first showed up in Season 1, it was brief. She was a rival to Lana Parrilla’s Evil Queen. It was iconic. Two powerhouses in gowns, trading insults in a cave. But then, she died. Sort of. She was stuck in a weird undead dragon state under the library for years.
It wasn’t until Season 4 that we really got to see what Kristin could do with the character. The showrunners decided to bring in the "Queens of Darkness." This was a massive pivot. Suddenly, Maleficent wasn't just a monster under the floorboards; she was a mother with a tragic backstory involving a stolen egg and a very angry Emma Swan. Kristin played it with this weary, maternal grit that made you actually root for a woman who once tried to curse an entire kingdom.
Why Her Portrayal Stood Out
Kristin didn't try to copy Angelina Jolie. She didn't try to copy the 1959 animation. She did her own thing. She brought a certain "rock star" energy to the role. Think leather trousers, messy hair, and a look in her eyes that said she’d seen way too much. It worked because Once Upon a Time was always at its best when it humanized the villains.
She made Maleficent feel tired. Not "I need a nap" tired, but "I’ve been fighting fate for twenty years" tired. It’s a nuance that's hard to pull off when you’re wearing 40 pounds of costume jewelry.
The Season 1 Mystery and the "Other" Maleficent
Wait. Did you catch the pilot?
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If you go back and watch the earliest episodes, specifically the stuff involving the curse's origin, the role of Maleficent was actually a bit of a placeholder. While Kristin Bauer van Straten is the official answer to who plays Maleficent in Once Upon a Time, the show's history is a bit more complicated.
In the very beginning, the character was mostly CGI or handled by stand-ins because they hadn't fully committed to a long-term arc. There were rumors and whispers about different casting choices, but Kristin's schedule with True Blood was the biggest hurdle. The producers actually had to wait for her to be available to bring her back for the major arcs.
This happens a lot in "Genre TV." You find the perfect person, but they’re busy killing humans in a different HBO show. So you wait. You put the character in a basement as a dragon and wait for the contract to end.
The Queens of Darkness Arc
Season 4 changed everything for the character. We got the trio: Maleficent, Ursula (played by Merrin Dungey), and Cruella de Vil (played by Victoria Smurfit).
This was the peak of the Maleficent hype.
Kristin had to play against these other massive personalities. It’s hard to stand out when you have Cruella screaming about fur coats next to you. But the writers gave Maleficent the "heart" of that group. Her storyline was about her daughter, Lily. This is where the actress really shined. She moved away from the "villain of the week" trope and into something much more fragile.
- The Motherhood Twist: Finding out Maleficent had a child who was "banished" to our world.
- The Rivalry: Her complex, almost "frenemy" relationship with Regina Mills.
- The Dragon Form: The VFX team had to work overtime to make the dragon transformations look halfway decent on a network TV budget.
Honestly, the chemistry between Kristin and Lana Parrilla was one of the best parts of the middle seasons. They felt like two people who had known each other for centuries and were just exhausted by each other’s nonsense.
Common Misconceptions About the Casting
People get confused. A lot.
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Because the Maleficent movie with Angelina Jolie came out around the same time the show was hitting its stride, casual viewers often conflate the two. No, Angelina Jolie was never on the show. No, the show didn't use the movie's backstory.
In fact, the show’s version of the character is a weird hybrid. She has the horns and the dragon powers of the 1959 film, but the fashion sense of a 90s goth icon. Some fans also confuse Kristin Bauer van Straten with other guest stars like Elizabeth Mitchell (who played the Snow Queen). They have a similar "blonde powerhouse" vibe, but Kristin is the only one who got to breathe fire.
Behind the Scenes: Makeup and Horns
You can't talk about who plays Maleficent in Once Upon a Time without talking about the physical transformation. Kristin has talked in interviews about the "headgear."
Those horns weren't just a hat. They were heavy. They required serious glue and balance. When she was on set, she had to move her head in a specific way to avoid knocking over the scenery. It’s a testament to her acting that she could look intimidating while basically wearing a small bicycle on her forehead.
The makeup was also a massive undertaking. They went for a more naturalistic, "earthy" look than the green-skinned animation, focusing on heavy contouring and deep purples. It took hours. Every single day. If you've ever wondered why Maleficent mostly stands still in her scenes, it’s probably because moving too fast might have caused a wardrobe malfunction of epic proportions.
Why Maleficent Vanished
One of the biggest frustrations for fans was Maleficent’s disappearance. After the Lily storyline in Season 4, she kind of just... stopped appearing.
Why?
Usually, it comes down to the "Guest Star" curse. Kristin Bauer van Straten was never a series regular. She was "Recurring." That means the show has to pay for her per episode, and if the story moves to a different realm (like Camelot or the Underworld), the writers often leave the "home" characters behind to save money and focus the plot.
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It’s a shame, honestly. The Lily/Maleficent resolution felt a bit unfinished. We saw them reunite, but we never got that big, soaring emotional payoff in the final seasons that characters like Rumplestiltskin or Belle received.
The Impact of Kristin’s Performance
Looking back, Kristin Bauer van Straten’s version of the character is arguably the most "human" version we’ve seen in media. Even more so than the live-action movies. In the movies, she’s a fairy who was betrayed. In Once, she’s a woman who made mistakes, lost her child, and spent years literalizing her inner demons as a dragon in a basement.
She made the character relatable. She wasn't just "evil." She was a person who had been dealt a bad hand and decided to play it as aggressively as possible.
How to Watch Her Best Episodes
If you want to see the definitive "Kristin as Maleficent" performance, you have to skip around. Don't just watch chronologically if you're only there for the dragon.
- "The Thing You Love Most" (Season 1, Episode 2): This is the introduction. It’s short, but it establishes the beef between her and Regina.
- "A Tale of Two Sisters" (Season 4, Episode 1): The beginning of her big return.
- "Enter the Dragon" (Season 4, Episode 14): This is the meat of her backstory. You see how she and Regina met and how she lost her "fire."
- "Lily" (Season 4, Episode 19): The emotional core of her character.
Making Sense of the Multiverse
When looking for who plays Maleficent in Once Upon a Time, it’s helpful to remember that this show exists in its own bubble. While the Disney brand owns it, the writers were allowed to deviate wildly from the source material. Kristin Bauer van Straten took that freedom and ran with it. She gave us a Maleficent who was sarcastic, grieving, and ultimately, a survivor.
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of the "Queens of Darkness," your best bet is to check out the Season 4 DVD extras or the various fan wikis that track the specific timelines of the Enchanted Forest. There are a lot of "blink and you'll miss it" moments, especially regarding her history with the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
For those trying to track the actress's current work, she remains active in the convention circuit and voice acting. She often speaks fondly of her time in the horns, noting that playing a villain who gets a chance at redemption is a rare gift in Hollywood.
If you’re planning a rewatch, pay close attention to the eyes. Kristin does this thing where she looks like she's looking through people, not at them. It’s a small detail, but it’s what makes her the definitive Maleficent for a whole generation of TV viewers.
To get the most out of the Once Upon a Time experience, you should track down the "World of Day" and "World of Night" companion books. They provide some extra context on the dragon-shifter lore that the show didn't have time to explain on screen. It fills in the gaps about why she was in that cave to begin with and exactly how her magic differs from Regina’s dark sorcery.