*SPOILER ALERT*
Absolutely do not read this interview unless you have seen the movie FROZEN as it gives away a major plot point. Instead, check out my spoiler-free FROZEN review.
Santino Fontana is no stranger to playing the role of Prince Charming, as that’s his exact character on Broadway’s Cinderella. But the prince he voices in FROZEN has a dark side— one that doesn’t come out until the second half of the film. During the Frozen press day, I was able to interview Santino Fontana and get the deets on what it like to be Prince Hans.
Your character has a twist that one would not see coming. Did you know it was coming when you first started?
Yes, I mean, not initially, not in the audition process, I didn’t. In the audition process, it sounded init–  I auditioned for Kristoff when at the time Kristoff was a tour guide in a place called, that was called mistletoe. And so I auditioned for that and he was a very naive and non-kind of comedic presence.
And then they said they scrapped the movie, and I was like oh no, but I knew Chris liked me. And then it came back two years later and this time they wanted me to audition for Hans, for the Prince.  And then it changed [the Script] and they were aware that they wanted some big twists to come, and then eventually that was part of the audition process. So I knew that would happen, but I didn’t know how.
 In the audition process, did you know you would be switching sides?
Oh, yeah. And being a completely different person. The very first time when I was playing like this, like happy tour guide guy, it was completely different than the Hans stuff initially, which was very regal and very … he was very like Henry the Fifth for a lot of it. Yeah. And then the twists started to come.
 Are there any clues that could give the twist away ahead of time?
… If you do go back and watch, I think you would be, you would start putting pieces together, but it also, we did, very specifically didn’t want anyone to know a second before it happened.
Are you anything like Hans in real life?
In little bits and pieces, I would say, are definitely, like any role it’s kind of a match of your imagination and your experience. And I think … Hans doesn’t have a huge sense of humor. I like to think that I have a good sense of humor. I like to keep people laughing or myself laughing, because life is too hard otherwise.  I’d say we’re pretty different.
Special thanks to Walt Disney Pictures for inviting me to attend the Disney Frozen Event. All opinions are my own.
