Maurice

"Belle, please, you cannot do this; you cannot go with this... beast."

- Maurice to Belle about Rumplestiltskin

Sir Maurice is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts, with his only appearance, in the twelfth episode of the first season. He is portrayed by guest star Eric Keenleyside, and is the Enchanted Forest counterpart of Moe French.

Sir Maurice is based on Beauty's father from the fairytale "Beauty and the Beast".

Before the Curse
Sir Maurice is the ruler of an unnamed town, whose people are ravaged by the Ogre Wars. He requests help from Rumplestiltskin to stop the ogres from harming them any further. When Rumplestiltskin asks for his daughter, Belle, in exchange for protecting the town, Maurice refuses. But, Belle decides to go with Rumplestiltskin anyway to help her father and the people of the kingdom.

After Rumplestiltskin throws Belle out of his castle, the Evil Queen claims to him Maurice treats Belle cruelly due to her association with Rumplestiltskin. The Queen states Maurice locked Belle in a tower and had priests perform exorcisms on her, which ultimately resulted in Belle's death.

While Rumplestiltskin believes the Evil Queen's lies about Belle's passing, the girl is kidnapped and imprisoned in the Dark Palace. Hook breaks into Belle's cell block and warns Sir Maurice's life is in danger because of Rumplestiltskin, which worries her. Hook wants to aide in her escape, but his true purpose is extracting information from her about Rumplestiltskin's dagger and its location. She knows nothing about it, and with no more use for her, Hook knocks Belle out unconscious.

Trivia

 * Sir Maurice is a reference to the same character in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. However, he does not share the same occupation as the Disney adaption of the character, who is an inventor.
 * The name "Maurice" is of Latin origin derived from "Maurus" that means "dark-skinned".