While many actors spend years trying to nab a role in just one big movie or television production, Once Upon a Time star Raphael Sbarge began his career appearing in successful films such as Risky Business, Message in a Bottle, Independence Day and Pearl Harbor and hasn't stopped working since.

As the child of a Broadway costume designer, he grew up in the theater surrounded by some of the biggest names in the business.

Acting is in his blood and Raphael has mastered role after role, making each character one audiences will never forget.

Raphael's latest role as Jiminy Cricket (the legendary character from Disney's Pinocchio) and Archie Hopper in Once Upon a Time is his most challenging and entertaining to date. I had the amazing opportunity to chat with the very sweet actor about growing up in the theater, his favorite role to date and taking on the challenging dual role in the hit ABC series...

Q: You grew up in the theater world; were you aware of the greatness around you or did you take it for granted at the time?

Raphael: "When I look back as an adult, I think wow that was a remarkable view in. My mother was a professor at the drama school at Yale when Meryl Streep, Sigorney Weaver, Chris Durang and many others were all students there. I did some plays there at the same time and I remember going to see shows and rehearsals with them in it. You go back and think, 'Oh my god, that was something,' but at the time, it seemed perfectly regular.

My kids, who are 7 and 9, went to Disneyland with Jared Gilmore (who plays Henry) for example and they went around on rides together and had a great time -- I think it seems all very normal to them now. They may go back and think it was all kind of interesting."

Q: You have been in the business since you were very young, what did a typical day consist of for you as a child?

Raphael: "When I was 4, they were looking for kids to be on a new show called Sesame Street and my mother didn't want to be a stage mother, so when I was 13 and decided I wanted to be an actor, she told me I had to do it on my own, so I would essentially traipse around the city using my bus pass. I was a very precocious little kid. I would go to high school and then go on auditions after school. I did my first Broadway play at 16 and did Risky Business at 18."

Q: Being around actors your whole life, is there any one in particular who took you under their wing?

Raphael: "There have been a lot over the years, but one who is still a very good friend is Austin Pendleton, who is a playwright and a writer. He went to college with my parents at Yale -- my dad was a playwright and my mom, a costume designer. We became very close friends and have worked together several times over the years. Kevin Spacey and I did a play together. He is such an amazing actor... a dynamo."

Q: Growing up in the theater world, is there one particular show you could see over and over again?

Raphael: "A Delicate Balance with Elaine Stritch. We go to the theater for inspiration and when it's great, it's really great and it leaves you in that place that almost makes you feel like jelly and when the curtain comes up, you can't quite move. It's like your DNA has been arranged."

Q: You've appeared in a number of blockbuster movies, which role was your favorite?

Raphael: "I don't know if I have a favorite. I have to say that my theater work is what I am most proud of and where I've had the chance to spread my wings the most."

Q: You've also done a fair amount of television work -- do you have one particular role you enjoyed most?

Raphael: "What they've written for Jiminy Cricket so far is as thrilling, dynamic, exciting and tragic of anything I've done in the last ten years."

Q: Tell us about Once Upon a Time...

Raphael: "I have to say that I have really worked on my elevator pitch on this show and I still find myself tied up in knots and wind up saying, 'you just got to watch it.' I talk about how the show is similar to Harry Potter or Princess Bride and how there is a fantasy world and a reality world and the characters live in two worlds where they cross back and forth."

Q: And your characters...

Raphael: "Henry, the young boy who is kind of in the middle of the story, sees a therapist, who in the other world is Jiminy Cricket. He (Archie) is the conscience of the show in that he is always trying to do the right thing. We find out in the episode that was his back story that his conscience came at a great price. It was a difficult and painful journey that he takes to come to a play where he can speak. Archie, as the therapist, interacts with the characters in Storybrooke to give them strength and direction. He helps them find their way, particularly with Henry."

Q: Do you think any of the characters will remember who they really are this season?

Raphael: "I don't even know the answer to that question yet. We're working on episode 15 now and what I can tell you is they have taken a page from the Lost handbook and done a deep dive into the lives of the individual characters like the Queen, Snow White, Prince Charming and the Sheriff episodes. I don't know this for a fact, it's purely my opinion that they are laying out the landscape for the beginning of the battle of Operation Cobra. Nobody has told me that, but it seems that all signs are pointing towards that."

Q: Will any of the characters begin to believe Henry this season?

Raphael: "It seemed like the sheriff did by the end of his episode, so it'll be interesting to see how this works."

Q: Do you think season two will still consist of backstories or will there be a completely different theme?

Raphael: "Honestly, the thing that is so interesting is that I never know what's coming next. There are some things I can't tell you but what I can specifically is that I have no idea what is in their mind."

Q: Do you get a chance to watch any TV shows on a regular basis?

Raphael: "I enjoy Mad Men and I love the work on Dexter."

Q: Do you watch Once Upon a Time with your own children?

Raphael: "I do. We all watch on Sunday nights -- we cuddle up and any scary parts, I squeeze them. They really seem to enjoy the show."

Q: Do you use Twitter or Facebook to keep in touch with fans?

Raphael: "I do -- my Twitter is @RaphaelSbarge and I have a Facebook fan page.

Q: Do you have any projects in the works?

Raphael: "There's not a lot of time to film stuff, but I did a video game called Mass Effect 3, which comes out in March. I'm also doing an internet series with Ed Begley Jr. about building the most technologically advanced house in the world. I'm also the founder of a non-profit called Greenwish."

Q: Anything to say to the fans?

Raphael: "Thank you. I am so touched by the outpouring of love and affection for the show. I'm so grateful to be working with so many wonderful artists on the show. There is so much excitement and thrills and chills to come. Thank you for your enthusiasm for what we're doing."