THE STAR OF FATE: THE WINX SAGA OPENS UP ABOUT HER STAR-MAKING TURN IN NETFLIX’S FRESH NEW HIT.
Fans of the Nickelodeon cartoon series Winx Club have waited to see one of their favorite fantasy universes come to live-action reality ever since its initial 2004 release. For Abigail Cowen, it was a shorter wait, even if it felt longer: an entire year between filming her star-making turn on Fate: The Winx Saga and its eventual release on Netflix in January.
“Waiting that long was definitely exciting, but also, for me personally, I was so nervous,” says Cowen.
“I had never done a role like this before to this caliber. And I think I’m realizing now after the release— I’m looking back and just being honest—I didn’t realize how stressed out I was.”
A fantasy series in which multiple magical entities come into contact with one another from across all sorts of different worlds, Fate: The Winx Saga strives to take an updated spin on the cult-classic cartoon series from which it stems. Starring in the series as a fire fairy named Bloom, Cowen serves as the audience’s eyes and ears into this brave new world.
“It’s crucial to have an escape right now,” says Cowen. “That’s just what this show offers. It sucks you right into its universe and it makes you feel like you’re a part of it and all of the characters and all of the powers. I think that any kind of fantastical, magical show is always great for people to use as a little bit of an escape, especially now in our world.”
It’s far from Cowen’s first time operating in the fantasy realm. Indeed, it’s hardly her first fantasy project even within the realm of Netflix, having appeared in Stranger Things and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.“There are no limitations,” she says about working in the fantasy realm. “Artists in general, we’re creative. We love to use our imagination, and it’s the perfect place for it. You get a new script every episode and you don’t know what’s about to happen. Anything can happen, and I think that’s so fun as an actor. It doesn’t feel like work. You get to play all the time and you get to imagine and just let your mind go wild.”
For Cowen’s part, she hopes to see more from Bloom as Fate: The Winx Saga expands into the future. “I would love to see Bloom really come into her powers and really hone in on them,” she says about her hopes for the show’s next steps. But for her next role, Cowen will be at the center of a story that’s all too real: director D.J. Caruso’s Redeeming Love, based on Francine Rivers’ powerful novel of the same name.
“My character basically was sold into prostitution as a child, and it follows her journey of getting out and dealing with the trauma that goes along with it while also battling PTSD and finding love and escaping,” she says about the part. “It really shines light on what sex trafficking is. ... I’m really excited about that one because I feel like it is a different type of role than I’ve ever played, and it was a huge challenge, but it’s also a really important story to be told.”
Photography by: KEVIN SCANLON
Styling by Amanda Lim Hair by Dimitris Giannetos Makeup by Adam Breuchaud
