Lana Parrilla has been working in Hollywood for decades, but she’s still haunted by the brief time in her career when she was homeless.
“There was a time, early on [in] my career — and it was very early on — I was living on my own, like, 19 years old. It was a really hard time,” Parrilla, 46, told Tommy DiDario on the Tuesday, May 28, episode of the “I’ve Never Said This Before” podcast. “My family and I were in different places, and I was kind of left on my own.”
The Once Upon a Time alum confessed that she “couldn’t do it all” while trying to get her career off the ground and go to college at the same time.
“I had to drop out of college, which broke my heart and I had to figure how to make more money to support myself,” Parrilla recalled, noting that the struggle resulted in her being homeless.
The actress — who had her first role as a waitress on the show Grown Ups in 1999 — revealed she was “living out of my car for a couple months” and “staying on the floor at friends’ places in their little apartments.” (Parrilla’s big break came in 2000 when she portrayed Angie Ordonez on Spin City.)
Decades later, that time continues to stand out in Parrilla’s mind. “It terrifies me still to this day,” she said. “That, like, that could ever be a reality for us as artists.”
Parrilla has also used her past struggle to fuel her current and future success.
“There’s always like a little part of me, in the back of my head, that’s like, ‘Oh my god, don’t ever stop working so hard,” she explained, adding that the fear of losing it ass as caused her to “be more creative and find new ways to make money and find all these different ways to, like, develop projects. and do you own thing and take on all these new talents.”
Parrilla confessed that “at 19 years old, it’s different” to be forced to live out of your car. “But, at 46, it’s a lot scarier,” she concluded.
Parrilla’s story of homelessness is one that hits home for many actors. Pedro Pascal revealed in March that he was nearly homeless before landing a guest starring role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1999.
“My entry level lasted about 15 years,” Pascal, 48, told Entertainment Tonight. “We’re talking about being able to see a doctor, getting sick, having surgery, paying my rent. I had less than $7 in my bank account and a residual from Buffy the Vampire Slayer showed up and saved the day and literally is the reason I was able to stay in [Hollywood] and not give up.”
Pascal portrayed Eddie, a freshman at UC Sunnydale, who gets turned into a vampire during the season 4 premiere of the WB series. The small part helped Pascal become part of the Screen Actors Guild union and he has since become a household name with roles in The Mandalorian and The Last of Us.
