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New AlbANy���s ���PriNce��� The New Albany native is a rising star in television and ��lm, and has already made a name for himself on the international stage. He currently stars as David Nolan/Prince Charming in the ABC hit series, ���Once Upon A Time,��� and splits his time between the set in Vancouver and his home in Los Angeles, returning to New Albany regularly to visit family and friends. Over the holidays he sat down for a quick chat about his hometown, the people that shaped his career and how happy it makes him to do what he loves. ���I love coming home as much as possible,��� he said. ���New Albany is my hometown, and I owe it so much. It���s such a special place and it just keeps getting better and better. I feel a great sense of pride.��� Dallas, 35, returned to Vancouver in January to ��nish 22 episodes of ���Once Upon A Time���, which is viewed by 13 to 14 million people every week. How does he feel about playing Prince Charming ��� every woman���s romantic fantasy? ���If I really thought about it, I���d probably crumble into the fetal position,��� he quipped. ���I hope I���ve made him more of an ���every man.��� I want him to be more than beautiful speeches.��� Playing the ��awed, weak, human character of David Nolan on ���Once Upon A Time���, he said, allows him to be more than just a ���metaphor for romanticism.��� He loves the fact that the show is very character-driven and believes that the way the story was created allows them to go anywhere in literature. He hopes that translates into a long run. Production wraps in March and he hopes to make it home again for Kentucky Derby activities. Last year he was in the Pegasus Parade during the Derby Festival. To the outside world, it doesn���t seem like a long road from Jack-in-the-Box to stardom, but everyone agrees he has worked hard and stayed grounded in his hometown roots. ���As an actor, you know the job will end,��� he re��ected. ���Coming home keeps it real. I���m trying to take it for what it is and enjoy the moment. It���s spectacular to go to work and do the thing you love to do most in the world. I realize how lucky I am.��� David Longest, longtime theater director at New Albany High School where Dallas graduated from in 1997, was thrilled when Dallas left the set of ���Once��� to ��y back for his retirement party last year. ���There���s always that fear that the pressures of Hollywood could change them, but he has always been, and remains, such a true person,��� he said. ���He���s a sweet boy, so genuinely kind and very polite, just like he���s always been. He hasn���t changed at all.��� The two stay in touch, even though Longest has now retired and moved to Florida. Both Longest and Dallas himself, credit great parenting for who the star has become. ���I was raised to set very high standards for myself,��� Dallas said. ���My grandmother always said, ���It doesn���t Josh Dallas graduated from New Albany High School in 1997. TV star Josh Dallas stays true to his roots Story // Kathy Melvin F rom the time he took the stage at New Albany���s Mt. Tabor Elementary School as the Jack-in-the-Box in his ��fth grade production of Aesop���s Falables, Josh Dallas knew he was destined to become an actor. March/April 2013 ��� 14