Once Upon A Time, Luton-born actor Chris Gauthier set off on an adventure of a lifetime

They also have one other thing in common... an actor born right here in Luton has starred in them all.

Chris Gauthier: from the incredibly sinister and disturbing villain The Toyman in Smallville facing against a teen Superman to his more affable, bumbling role as the red woolly hatted William Smee in Once Upon A Time.

Now living with his family in Vancouver, Canada, recently I was fortunate enough to be able to have a chat with him and find out this Luton lad’s adventure of a lifetime.

Chris: First of all, thanks for the interest! I’ll try my best to answer honestly and candidly. When I was five my dad moved my family from Dunstable to a small city in British Columbia, Canada called Armstrong.

My dad had a line on a house there and thought it may be a good opportunity for us all... After growing up there, doing plays and the odd small commercial, I met my now wife Erin. She suggested we move to Vancouver and give the acting thing a proper try.

It took a while. Answering ads in the paper and stuff. Some trials and tribulations but ultimately has me where am I today! For better or worse.

Discussing his roles: Well, there have been a few.... I had a role playing a chef on the show A Town Called Eureka. I played an extroverted chef named Vincent. He was a pleasure to play and potentially my longest running character.

There’s also Smee. In my opinion he’s lovely. He’s a bit of a sneak but very loyal to Hook and all things Hook. There’s something kind of cool about playing fringe characters and playing around/humanizing them with limited screen time.

Lastly, I really enjoyed playing a character called Ronald Reznick on the show Supernatural” that (along with the Toyman from Smallville) have been some of my most immersive and tasty roles!

I’d like to take this opportunity to say that it was announced recently Season 7 of Once Upon A Time would be the final season. A Series of Unfortunate Events, Season 2, is now available on Amazon and Netflix.

The series that Chris has acted in have generated a lot of interest. So much so that he is delighted to be a part of the convention circuit, promoting and meeting fans.

Speaking about this, he said: “It’s the idea of hope and love! It sounds too broad and generalized but it works! Especially in these uncertain times and I think with the advent of social media people are able to form long lasting friendships based on a mutual love of something.

Not sure about my character part. Definitely interesting to see him in the position he’s in now (no spoilers).”

My lips are sealed!

As for future roles, will we be seeing him on British telly anytime soon? “I would love to work on Peaky Blinders! Love that show,” he said.

Of course having lived over ‘the pond’ for so long, I asked Chris if there was anything he particularly misses.

“So much!,” he said. “But I do get back there. I still have family there and thereabouts. I miss the food a lot. Mainly the junk and sweets. Pies, proper chips and such (I’m a simple fella). But I miss lots more. It’s a smell thing and an atmosphere thing. I truly do miss it often.”

We ended our chat by asking what the one piece of advice he had for anyone who had a desire to pursue a career in acting, behind the scenes or as a screenwriter. His answer was short and to the point.

“Just do it. Believe you can!,” he said. “It sounds oversimplified and maybe it is? Maybe that’s a good thing. I’m sure there’s no one path that’s right. But mine was just that! I knew I could and wanted to do it badly!”

> Fans can follow Chris on Twitter and Instagram @captaingauthier

> Amanda Ward is a Luton resident and published author of seasoned romance novels. Her website is www.amandajward.weebly.com