Ghosts Star Rose McIver Played A Popular Disney Character In A Hit ABC Fantasy Series

Rose McIver has found a whole new fanbase since taking on the lead role of Samantha Arondekar on "Ghosts," but before her ghostly encounters on the CBS comedy, she had previously crossed paths with the supernatural, playing one of Disney's most iconic characters in a fantasy drama on ABC: "Once Upon a Time."

Prior to her role on "Ghosts," McIver had already built up an impressive list of credits. In fact, this new comedy continues a trend for McIver of appearing in projects that involve life after death in one form or another. In 2009, she appeared in a supporting role in the supernatural thriller film "The Lovely Bones," told from the perspective of the lingering spirit of a murdered girl. Then, in 2015, she took on the lead role of zombie Liv Moore on The CW's "iZombie." Amidst these ghoulish and ghostly roles, though, McIver spent some time in a far less morbid brand of fantasy on ABC's "Once Upon a Time." Here, in the fairytale-inspired world of the series, McIver played the fairy Tinker Bell.

The fantasy drama took place in a world where fairytale characters had their memories erased and lives rewritten by the Evil Queen. This saw the familiar characters sent into the real world to lead less fantastical lives in the town of Storybrooke. "Once Upon a Time" revealed Tinker Bell had an unlikely past friendship with Regina, the Evil Queen, for whom she had stolen pixie dust from the Blue Fairy. As punishment, Tinker Bell was stripped of her wings.

"Once Upon a Time" put a different spin on Tinker Bell from anything audiences had seen before. While she had spent time with Peter Pan in Neverland in the past, in the present, she ended up helping Captain Hook and others track down Pan, whom "Once Upon a Time" reimagined as a sinister villain. Her novel past with the Blue Fairy and the Evil Queen also gave Tinker Bell a new story as she strove to regain her wings.

Speaking previously about her role as Tinker Bell in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, McIver spoke about how the character drew upon her original portrayal in J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan."

"She would be either completely jealous or completely excited [in Barrie's work] and [the "Once Upon a Time" writers'] understanding of that was that J.M. Barrie had written her as a character that[,] because of her minute size when she's a fairy, she would only have one feeling at a time," McIver explained. She went on to discuss how this influenced Tinker Bell on the series, saying, "While she can [be] excitable and encouraging and [a] good fairy, she also has a streak of jealousy and resentment. When that consumes her, it consumes her entirely."

Now, McIver has swapped fairytale characters for ghostly acquaintances. "Ghosts," which is based on a U.K. series of the same name, is currently in its sixth season. New episodes air every Thursday on CBS.