Neal Cassidy

"We've been on the road long enough. Maybe it's time we retire the "Bonnie and Clyde" act."

- Neal Cassidy to Emma Swan

Neal Cassidy is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He makes his debut in the first episode of the second season. He is portrayed by guest star Michael Raymond-James. His counterpart, if he has one, has yet to be revealed.

During the Curse
Neal and Emma met in Portland when they both unknowingly were trying to steal the same car. They quickly fell in love and began traveling through the country together and running some cons to make money. They planned on retiring from their crime life and living together in Tallahassee but in order to do that they first had to retrieve stolen watches that Neal had previously hidden in a train station. While Emma picks up the watches, Neal is confronted by August Booth who tells him about Emma's magical history and convinces him to turn Emma in to the police so she can fulfill her destiny. After Emma is arrested he runs away to Canada, where he sells the watches. He asks August to send all the money plus their car to Emma, and asks August that if Emma ever fulfills her duty to please send him a postcard. Unknown to him, Emma was pregnant with his son.

After the Curse
Presently, Neal resides in New York City, where, shortly after Emma Swan breaks the curse in Storybrooke, he receives a postcard delivered by a dove. One side of the postcard reads, "Broken", and the other is a photo of the Storybrooke Clock Tower with the phrase "Greetings from Storybrooke", which was sent to him by August.

Trivia

 * His casting call: "For Once Upon a Time, the role of Jack is being cast (as a "guest role with option"). He's in his 20s or 30s, charismatic, sexy and mysterious, but also loyal and kind, and he's running from his past in a land full of danger."
 * He has many vintage items in his apartment: an array of old radios, old microphones, classic cameras, records and record player, old pencil sharpener, old telephone, and a dreamcatcher hanging on the wall by the window (that he and Emma found when crashing in a vacant hotel room). He also has a series of monocles hanging by the door and an odd set of glasses in a bowl by the window.
 * The song playing on his iPod during the walk to his apartment is "Charley's Girl" by Lou Reed.
 * There is a sign in his apartment that reads "Cleaner and Hatters".
 * His name probably comes from the infamous poet and member of the Beat Generation Neal Cassady, who was the main inspiration for the character Dean Moriarty on Jack Kerouac's novel, On the Road.
 * The dream-catcher he has hanging in his apartment was given to him by Emma.
 * According to his wanted poster, he was born March 23, 1977 in New Jersey. This means in 2001 he would have been 24 when he met Emma, who was 17 at the time.
 * His wanted poster also says: "Neal Cassidy has a scar on his left arm from a knife wound."
 * He gave Emma the Pyrrha Swan Necklace, which was part of a key ring originally.