Zelena (Once Upon a Time)
In December 2013, Rebecca Mader was cast as the Wicked Witch of the West. She made multiple appearances during the second half of season three and was promoted to a series regular for the show's fifth season. The role of the Wicked Witch of the West was written specifically for Rebecca Mader. It was announced that the writers had chosen not to continue with Zelena's storyline and Mader would not be returning for the seventh season of the show. However, Mader later revealed that she would be returning for multiple season seven episodes.
Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time)
Gilmore, who had previously starred in "Mad Men" as the third Bobby Draper from 2009 to 2011, was cast in "Once Upon a Time" as Henry Mills, the "biological son of Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison's character) and Neal/Baelfire. He is the only resident of Storybrooke who is not under the spell of the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla)." Series creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis stated of the role, "One of our emotional centers was an 11-year-old boy who had to be precocious and vulnerable at the same time." Kitsis believed that Gilmore "naturally brought [these characteristics] out... We just knew he had to be our Henry!" Gilmore commented, "I relate to Henry because I'm 11 and also have a very good imagination. I enjoy making up and playing games in worlds with alternate realities myself."