In the Netflix series “Fate: The Winx Saga,” Abigail Cowen plays Bloom, a teenage fairytale with recently discovered powers. The second season of the show, which has reached the top 10 on streaming services in multiple countries, has found a foothold in similar teen dramas.
It was a great show with a passionate following that brought Cowen to Ireland to shoot and gave her a steady job. Despite her success, she wants people to know that working in Hollywood isn’t as easy or magical as people think.
The 24-year-old admitted to having a few doubts where she asked herself, “‘Is this crazy? Is it going to work? Is this really sustainable?'” She also said frankly that she is often rejected It’s very common that she hears “no” a lot. “I don’t think it ever stops until you become Brad Pitt or something.”
The fact that Cowan found his way to Hollywood may be as rare as finding out that you’re actually a fairy. Growing up on a farm in the small town of Oviedo, Florida, she said it was “absolutely uncommon” to choose to enter the entertainment industry.
“I grew up in the middle of nowhere. We had land and animals and stuff like that. Where you ride your bike is not your next-door neighbor. I had my brother and we were like, ‘What are we doing today? Let’s To go out and create a story, to use our imaginations. I fell in love with it and wanted to do it as a profession.”
Cowan’s mom got her to sign at 12 with an agent who encouraged her to stay in Florida and experience a normal life before moving to Los Angeles.
“I had to go to high school and experience what Bloom was going through and learn from it, and I’m so grateful now,” she said.
When she did move to Los Angeles, Cowan said she needed time to book a job where she felt safe — a recurring role in 2018’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
“Before this, I lived on a mattress on the floor of a small old apartment in North Hollywood, my roommate actually slept on another mattress on the floor next to me, and I slept on a friend’s couch. It’s definitely a trip.”
In Fate: The Winx Saga, Cowen’s Bloom, a fire fairy, goes to school to learn how to use her magical powers. There, Bloom and her four core friends experience familiar themes such as friendship, love, and competition.
The education of young people with special abilities, like Fate: The Winx Saga, is a popular setting for storytelling. Harry Potter’s Hogwarts is probably the most famous school of magical arts, but there are also current plot lines. The upcoming Amazon “The Boys” spinoff “Fifth Generation” will be set in a superhero academy. In Peacock’s “Vampire Academy”, vampires and their guardians attend a special school called St. Petersburg. Vladimir Academy.
Cowan believes these shows, including “Fate: The Winx Saga,” resonate with audiences when myth meets realism.
“Even though we’re in the fantasy world, our producer Brian Young has done an amazing job of laying the groundwork and bringing in the real-life issues that a lot of young people face that I’m growing up with What I faced in the process. Even my parents said, ‘I could understand this when I was young. I can understand this even now.'”