Directed by D.J. Caruso and based on the best-selling novel by Francine Rivers, the period drama Redeeming Love is a tale of forgiveness and the power of love in an unforgiving world, set during the California Gold Rush of 1850. From the moment Michael Hosea (Tom Lewis) sees Angel (Abigail Cowen) it’s love at first sight, and he knows that he wants to build a life and family with her, but having been sold into prostitution as a child has hardened Angel and made her guard her heart in a way that proves to be more of a challenge to win over than Michael ever could have imagined.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Cowen talked about why she fell in love with this character, how she finally ended up getting the role after a scheduling conflict originally took her out of the running, the huge responsibility to do Angel justice for the fans of the book, finding the chemistry in portraying the Angel-Michael relationship, how she worked to protect herself from taking on such dark material, and the challenging last day of filming. Cowen also gave a few hints about what viewers can expect from the upcoming second season of her Netflix series Fate: The Winx Saga and what would most surprise fans about how they shoot the show.

Collider: This is quite the role. How did you come to this? Did you go through a whole audition process for this film? How do you do all of that and not fall in love with the character before you know whether you’ll get to play her?

ABIGAIL COWEN: Good question. I try my hardest not to fall in love with characters before I get to play them, but this one, I couldn’t help but fall in love. It was actually a very emotional journey for me. I read the script and fell in love. I taped and heard that I was going to meet with D.J. [Caruso], the director. I believe the process was a month long. This was two years ago now. I got it, but then there was a scheduling conflict, so I ended up having to let the role go, and I was devastated. Dates for another project conflicted, but I kept asking about it. I was like, “I just really hope that they push the dates,” and I heard that they did. I actually took it upon myself to write D.J. what was basically an essay, telling him all about how much I loved the role and how much I hope that I would have the honor to play Angel. We ended up chatting again, and then since the dates pushed, I was able to do it. It was a very long, emotional journey because I was in love with this story and Angel’s story.

Had you known or heard anything about the book or was it just the script that made you fall in love with her?

COWEN: It was originally the script. I had friends and family who had read the book. I was not familiar with it. I read the script and I loved it. My mom was actually like, “Oh, my gosh, I read that book and I loved it.” So after reading the script, I read the book and can see why.

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Image via Epic

How daunting is it to know that you actually have this group of fans that is already there, who already wants to see the movie, and who has a certain expectation for it all? How do you tune that out?

COWEN: I feel I have a huge responsibility to this role, to fans of the book, and to Angel. I try my best not to let it be in my mind 24/7 when I’m filming because it’s a daunting task, and it is some pressure. I really do wanna do Angel justice for the fans and for the people who really adore this book and who’ve loved it for years. It’s just a matter of doing your proper research and preparation, and then really leaving it at the door and, when you’re on set, just letting your creative energy and artistic energy flow.

This film doesn’t work if the chemistry between Angel and Michael isn’t there and, and if the audience doesn’t care about them. At what point in the process did you meet Tom Lewis? Did you have conversations about that relationship?

COWEN: We met in South Africa, which is so funny. Looking back, it’s like, “Oh, my gosh, it could have gone so wrong.” We met and we immediately just hit it off. Tom is incredible. He’s a great person and great friend. I adore him. We actually did do chemistry reads, but he was in the UK, at the time, and I flew into South Africa before we even had our Michael. D.J. called me into his office and was like, “We have our Michael. This is him.” He showed me his tape, and I was like, “Okay, great.” He was like, “He arrives next week.” I was like, “Awesome.” So yeah, we met in South Africa.

Once you guys finally got to do a scene together, did that really help you feel like it would all fall into place?

COWEN: Yeah, it really did. Just from meeting Tom, I just knew. I was like, “Okay, this is gonna be great.” We both felt very comfortable with each other. We did do some rehearsals at, I believe, one of our houses. D.J. met with us, and we just went through scenes. Immediately, we were just very excited for what was to come.

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Image via Universal Pictures

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Michael is one of the few characters that actually treats Angel well. She doesn’t have the best people in her life. What was it like to really figure out all those relationships and those dynamics, and work with those different actors?

COWEN: I got very lucky, it was just a very safe environment and a wonderful place to be able to do those types of scenes. The cast was all just so lovely and respectful and kind and professional. We definitely lucked out there. I think that made it, I wouldn’t say easy, but much easier than it would’ve been otherwise.

Even though there really is no shortage of horrible men in this story, for me, someone like Duchess is worse, as another female who’s selling these young women. How do you feel about that character and what she represents to Angel?

COWEN: Duchess is almost a motherly figure to Angel because her mother passed. She has this negative outlook on life now and this is the only other woman that’s been an authority figure to her. I think it just further proves Angel’s theory that everything is horrible and nothing can go right. I also think that seeing Angel watching Duchess listen to Magowan is a painful thing. I don’t think she’s ever seen really any women in her life stand up to men and stand up to their abusers, and Duchess is just his right-hand man, or woman. It’s definitely a very complicated relationship there.

I first became aware of you with Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and you’ve gone on to lead this film, and you’re also leading Fate: The Winx Saga, which did really well and is coming back for a second season. What can you say to tease the second season of that show, especially for fans who have been waiting and will still be waiting a bit longer to get to see it?

COWEN: Yeah, it will be a little bit, I think. I don’t know how much I can say. I’m so bad with giving spoilers, so I have to be careful. There are more threats to the universe. We’re introducing new characters. There are more love stories, more magic, more fighting, bigger threats and more questions being answered. That was very vague.

What was your reaction to getting to read the scripts and getting to see how the world would get expanded? Especially after playing her for a season, how did you feel about where she’d be going next?

COWEN: I was excited. I’m a fan of the series. Getting the scripts, it was like Christmas morning. It was exciting. We don’t get the scripts all in one. We actually will get a script and film the episode, and we don’t know what’s coming next either, which is exciting and nerve-wracking. It was awesome.

Fate: The Winx Club Saga Season 1. Elisha Applebaum as Musa, Eliot Salt as Terra, Abigail Cowen as Bloom, Hannah van der Westhuysen as Stella, Precious Mustapha as Aisha in Fate: The Winx Club Saga Season 1. Cr. Jonathan Hession/NETFLIX © 2020

What do you think fans would be most surprised to learn about the making of that show?

COWEN: That the majority of it is CGI. I’m sure they know that I don’t actually have fire powers. Some of the things that go into the CGI, like when I have my fire powers, in Season 1 there was literally a metal rod on my forearm with a light attached. They CGI-ed it out, but that’s how I had to do my fire powers because the light would hit my face. It’s stuff like that. I’d be talking to a metal ball and pretending it’s a monster. It’s not as maybe glamorous as people would think. Sometimes you sit back, and you’re like, “Wow, this is my job. I’m an adult, and I’m talking to a metal ball.”

Was a character like Angel difficult to let go of, on the last day? Was she someone that, after playing her, you had become attached to, in that sense?

COWEN: I hope I did a decent job of protecting myself, when it came to playing Angel. You can only do so much because, at the end of the day, it is your body getting thrown around, or whatever stunt double. You are the one doing the scenes, and yeah it’s a character, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take a bit of a toll on me. I feel like I had a lot of people around me that were very supportive and very kind and who created a really safe environment, so that was insanely helpful. I definitely try to separate myself from the character, especially in that kind of situation or circumstance, because it’s really tough material.

What was the last scene that you shot, and what was that last day like?

COWEN: The last day was the last scene of the movie. That was the last scene that we did. So, we were chasing light, which means the sun was going down, and we had a certain amount of time to get the scene done. I was insanely sick. I had food poisoning or something, so it was an interesting last day, but we were all pushing through. Everyone was very, very supportive, and I was dead set on getting it done. I was pushing through some food poisoning. It was a very interesting last day, but we got it done. Looking back, it’s one of those moments that you remember for the rest of your life. It’s like, “Remember how hectic and scared we were, that we weren’t gonna get this done?” Just the feeling of accomplishment, especially the last scene of the movie on the last day, it’s a really odd but good memory.

Well, no one will be able to tell that you’re sick just from watching that scene in the movie. You really can’t tell.

COWEN: Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have said that. Now you’re gonna watch the last scene and think of it differently.

Redeeming Love is out in theaters on January 21.