Jennifer Morrison, who portrayed lead protagonist Emma Swan in ABC’s fantasy series Once Upon a Time, came to Fan Expo’s Dallas Fan Days last weekend on Oct. 20-21 at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas. Having been to Dallas Fan Days for the past few years, getting to see Jennifer Morrison was such a treat. As far as I knew, Jennifer Morrison hadn’t come to this specific con before.
Prior to Once Upon a Time, Jennifer Morrison was also known for her roles as Dr. Allison Cameron in the medical-drama series House. and as Zoey Pierson, one of Ted Mosby’s love interests on the comedy series How I Met Your Mother. Morrison’s film credits included Winona Kirk, mother of James T. Kirk in the 2009 science-fiction film Star Trek and Tess Conlon in the 2011 sports drama film Warrior.
Directorial Debut
But in recent years, Morrison also took up the role of director. Her directorial debut film Sun Dogs premiered at several film festivals last year, including Los Angeles Film Festival and Austin Film Festival.
The moderator at Dallas Fan Days asked Morrison what it was like directing her first film.
"It's an incredible battle. You don't know how crazy it is until you're doing it," @jenmorrisonlive says about directing her debut film #SunDogs. #dallasfandays @FANEXPODallas
— Geek Gals @ #DallasFanDays (@geekgalsco) October 20, 2018
"The biggest challenge w/ that project was we didn't have alot of time to prep… We had 9 days of prep in order for me to finish filming in time to go back to #OUAT," @jenmorrisonlive says about #SunDogs
— Geek Gals @ #DallasFanDays (@geekgalsco) October 20, 2018
Sun Dogs is now available to stream on Netflix. So go ahead and add that to your queue!
Euphoria
We also learned something new regarding Morrison’s directing: She will direct an episode of HBO’s upcoming teen drama Euphoria. The show is set to premiere sometime in 2019. No announcement has been made.
Latest thing? @jenmorrisonlive is gonna direct an episode of #Euphoria on #HBO! #dallasfandays @FANEXPODallas pic.twitter.com/PmunKikx6g
— Geek Gals @ #DallasFanDays (@geekgalsco) October 20, 2018
Getting to know Jennifer
It was time for the Q&A portion of the panel and many audience members asked some great questions for Morrison.
Favorite book genre? @jenmorrisonlive says fiction! She loved this one book called "Sparrow." #dallasfandays @FANEXPODallas
— Geek Gals @ #DallasFanDays (@geekgalsco) October 20, 2018
Fun fact: @jenmorrisonlive loves miniature items in museums! "It's so intricate and insane!" #dallasfandays @FANEXPODallas
— Geek Gals @ #DallasFanDays (@geekgalsco) October 20, 2018
Once Upon a Time
Question: What was it like portraying Emma on ABC’s Once Upon a Time? Morrison said:
It’s a lot of pressure when you’re carrying a show… You have to always be at your best, but it’s a muscle you develop over time. I really loved portraying Emma Swan.
"I always admired that character: she put one foot in front of the other. She was always like 'I need to do the right thing,'" @jenmorrisonlive talks about what she liked about #EmmaSwan on #OUAT #dallasfandays
— Geek Gals @ #DallasFanDays (@geekgalsco) October 20, 2018
The conversion continued on Once Upon a Time. Fans asked various questions asking about Morrison’s “favorites,” such as favorite episode, favorite character, and favorite storyline.
Favorite episode of #OUAT to shoot? @jenmorrisonlive says she really enjoyed shooting the musical episode! #dallasfandays @FANEXPODallas
— Geek Gals @ #DallasFanDays (@geekgalsco) October 20, 2018
Favorite character brought on to #OUAT? @jenmorrisonlive says it's hard to pick just 1. "I was always surprised with what the writers came up with." #dallasfandays @FANEXPODallas
— Geek Gals @ #DallasFanDays (@geekgalsco) October 20, 2018
Favorite story line in #OUAT? @jenmorrisonlive says she loves them all for different reasons! She particularly enjoyed exploring the #DarkSwan arc. #dallasfandays @FANEXPODallas pic.twitter.com/tPOi0g4Z3P
— Geek Gals @ #DallasFanDays (@geekgalsco) October 20, 2018
House
We shifted gears toward the end of the panel when a fan asked Morrison about her time on House and how she went about depicting a doctor. Morrison explained that she did her best to research in-depth every role she took on, and Dr. Allison Cameron was no exception.
"I tried to understand the best I could. We also had a doctor and nurse on set," @jenmorrisonlive says about understanding medical lingo for #House. #dallasfandays
— Geek Gals @ #DallasFanDays (@geekgalsco) October 20, 2018
Featured image credit: ChinLin Pan/Geek Gals
I wish I liked Once Upon a Time, but after watching season #2, I was bored with it and stopped.
It’s a very PG fantasy show so it’s not everyone’s cup-of-tea, but you should check out some of Jennifer Morrison’s other work. She’s a great actress.