Josh Dallas Children, Manifest's Ben's Kids in Real Life With Ginnifer Goodwin

Whether he’s known as Ben on Manifest or Prince Charming on Once Upon a Time, to Josh Dallas’ children, he’s known as just dad at home.

Manifest is Netflix‘s supernatural drama series following passengers and crew members on a commercial airline who suddenly reappeared after being presumed dead for five and a half years. Dallas plays Ben Stone, a college mathematics professor and the brother of protagonist Michaela Stone, who was a passenger on the missing flight, Flight 828. Manifest premiered on NBC in 2018. The series ran for three seasons on the network until it was cancelled in 2021. It was revived and picked up for a fourth and final season by Netflix, which was released in May 2023.

“I was in tears the whole time,” Dallas told The Hollywood Reporter at the time of filming Manifest’s final episode. “It’s twofold, right? It’s bittersweet because we’re saying goodbye to these characters and this world, and also to the TV family we’ve created, the crew and everyone we’ve worked with for the past five years. It was charged. But as far as the ending, Jeff has known how he wanted to end this story since the very beginning.”

On Manifest, Ben is a father of three children: a son named Cal, and daughters Olive and Eden. In real life, Dallas is a father of two sons with his wife, Ginnifer Goodwin, who played Snow White on Once Upon a Time. Read on for what we know about Josh Dallas’ children in real life and his family off screen.

Meet Manifest star Josh Dallas’ children with his wife, Ginnifer Goodwin ahead.

Oliver Finlay Dallas

Born: May 29, 2014

Oliver Finlay Dallas is Josh Dallas and Ginnifer Goodwin’s first child and eldest son. He was born on May 29, 2014. “Thanks for all the well wishes about our new baby boy, We are in LOVE! He’s our favorite person,” Dallas tweeted at the time announcing Oliver’s birth. A representative for the couple told People, “Both mom and baby are doing great.” A month before Oliver’s birth, Dallas and Goodwin told People that they were struggling with naming their first child. “Naming a child with the last name of ‘Dallas,’ is a little more complicated,” Goodwin said. Dallas continued, “We read so many books. I can’t even tell you. I could probably teach a college-level course in bringing up a child. It doesn’t mean I’ll be great at it, but I hope I’m good at it.”

Dallas called Goodwin the “greatest mother that I know” in an interview with People in 2015. “It’s extraordinary because she is, literally, the greatest mother that I know,” he said at the time. “It’s extraordinary to have your partner, who you’ve known all this time, blossom into this woman … who is so nurturing, so caring and just so cool. She’s so cool and she’s a cool mom. It’s great.”

Dallas also talked about how fast Oliver was growing up less than a year after his birth. “Every day is a milestone, like pulling himself up, walking around, holding onto things,” Dallas said. “He can climb up the stairs like a ninja. It’s just every day there’s something that’s a milestone that amazes you. Like holding his own bottle — that amazes you as a parent.” Still, he confessed that there were downsides of being a parent to a newborn. “Sleep is elusive,” he said. “Sleep is a slippery devil. I can’t seem to ever catch it.”

Dallas also told People about how fatherhood had changed him. [Fatherhood] changed a lot,” Dallas said. “And it’s changed because you don’t think about yourself anymore. There’s somebody else that you have to take care of. He’s the greatest person I know, my little dude, so it’s a pleasure to do that.” He also admitted to having help in his children’s grandparents. “We have help,” Dallas said. “We have our mothers, [and they] come up and it’s the greatest thing in the world. They’re our nannies, but they’re our son’s grandmothers. They get to spend a lot of time together, so we’re blessed.”

Goodwin also told E! News in 2015 about how her and Dallas’ relationship changed since they had their first child. “It’s mommy and daddy night out. It’s crazy,” she said, admitting that she and Dallas “never” went out on date nights anymore. She also told E! News about what it was like to be a first-time parent. “It’s so much better [than I thought]. It makes me feel like acting is not at all creative, but being a parent, anybody who’s a parent I want to like give an Oscar to,” she said.

As for Oliver’s milestones at the time, Goodwin told E! News, “He’s got teeth. He says ‘Hey.’ He learned high five. He’s pretty hip.” She also admitted that she and Dallas want a large family. We’ll have as many as the universe will grant us,” she said. As for what she likes the most about Dallas as a dad, Goodwin told E! News, “He makes me laugh so much, and even if we squabble he makes me laugh, so I can’t even say angry—which is kind of its own level of frustrating. I want to be mad!”

Hugo Wilson Dallas

Born: June 1, 2016

Hugo Wilson Dallas is Josh Dallas and Ginnifer Goodwin’s second child and youngest son. He was born on June 1, 2020. In an interview with People in 2020, Goodwin opened up about why her second pregnancy was more exhausting than her first. “Now I’m running after a toddler, working on a series and doing a press tour,” she said at the time. “The first time you feel like you are pregnant for four years. This time, I don’t know how many weeks I am. I have to reference my date book!”

Goodwin also told People that her and Dallas’ first child, Oliver, was preparing to become an older brother “He definitely understands the concept of a baby,” Goodwin said. “He pulls up my shirt every day and pats my belly and says, ‘Hello, baby.’ We kept telling him, ‘Your brother can hear you.’ So he just pushes his face into my belly and talks.”

Before the birth of his children, Dallas told People that he was “terrified and nervous” to become a father. “Hey, I fully admit, I am terrified,” he said. “I’m excited but terrified and nervous. And I can’t wait to meet it. I want it to fully develop and have all its lungs, but I want to meet it soon.” He also told People how he was preparing to be a first-time father. “We read so many books. I can’t even tell you. I could probably teach a college-level course in bringing up a child,” Dallas said. “It doesn’t mean I’ll be great at it, but I hope I’m good at it.”

He also admitted that he “hopes” his children don’t become actors like their parents. “I hope my kid is not an actor, so I don’t want him to start out that early!” he said.

Manifest is available to stream on Netflix.

For more primetime stars’ children, check out our photo gallery on nighttime soap stars and their real-life families. 

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