5 lesser-known facts about Locke & Key star Darby Stanchfield

American actress Darby Stanchfield is well-known for playing the character of Nina Locke in the 2020 Netflix fantasy horror series Locke & Key.

Her other prominent roles include Abby Whelan, the spunky and outspoken investigator in ABC's political drama Scandal, April Green in CBS' post-apocalyptic drama Jericho, and Helen Bishop, a liberal single mother in the second season of AMC's Emmy-winning period drama Mad Men.

Darby has also appeared in multiple cameos on hit TV shows such as How I Met Your Mother and The Mentalist. Her feature film credits include Adrienne Shelley's critically acclaimed Waitress, opposite Nathan Fillion and Keri Russell, and Dave Rosenbaum's The Picture of Dorian Gray, opposite Josh Duhamel.

Ahead of the premiere of the final season of Locke & Key on August 10, here are a few relatively lesser known facts about Darby Stanchfield.

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5 facts about Darby Stanchfield that you might not know

1) She is a member of Feeding America

Darby Stanchfield volunteering for Feeding America (Image via Getty)

Darby Stanchfield is a member of Feeding America, America's largest nonprofit domestic hunger-relief organization that works with food banks to end hunger. Her words of support appear on the network's website as:

“As a proud member of Feeding America’s Entertainment Council, I strongly support their non-partisan mission of love and the ending of hunger right here at home.”

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2) She is related to a Disney animator

Walt Stanchfield, a famous Disney animator, is her uncle. Walt Stanchfield was the man behind some of Walt Disney Studios' classic animated feature films such as The Jungle Book (1967) and The Aristocrats (1970). He also mentored numerous prominent Disney animators, including Brad Bird, Don Bluth, John Lasseter Joe Ranft and more.

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3) She has also donned the director's cap

Darby Stanchfield has also directed a six-episode web series called Gladiator Wanted. The web series features Guillermo Diaz, Cornelius Smith Jr., Katie Lowes and George Newbern. The series was written by Juan Carlos Fernandez and released on January 19 2017, ahead of the release of the sixth season of Scandal.

In 2018, she also directed an episode titled The Noise as part of the final season of Scandal.

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4) She kept her marriage a secret

Darby Stanchfield with her husband Joseph Gallegos (Image via Daily Mail)

According to Daily Mail, Darby Stanchfield has been married since 2009 to Joseph Mark Gallegos, but chose to keep her marriage a secret for years. She confirmed her marriage in November 2015. Her husband is a former executive of Trailer Park, Inc.

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5) She has appeared in a radio play

Stanchfield appeared in the recording of Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical play Biloxi Blues, alongside Josh Radnor and Justine Bateman. The audio recording was produced by LA Theater Works for NPR. The Tony-winning play is the second chapter in Simon's Eugene trilogy.

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In brief, about Locke & Key on Netflix

Developed by Carlton Cuse, Meredith Averill, and Aron Eli Coleite, this supernatural horror series is based on writer Joe Hill and illustrator Gabriel Rodríguez's graphic novel series of the same name.

The show follows the journey of the three Locke siblings Tyler, Kinsey and Bode and their mother Nina, who moved into Keyhouse, their ancestral home, after the kids' father Rendell was murdered under unfathomable circumstances.

The siblings soon discover magical keys in their new house that imbue the user with special abilities and gifts, while at the same time unwittingly setting free a mysterious demon from Rendell’s past trapped in the family's well house.

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Don't forget to binge the epic battle between humans and the demon world in the concluding season of Locke & Key on August 10.