The cast of Fate: The Winx Saga discuss their magical boarding school

Stella and Musa

It’s like Harry Potter, but with a lot more fairies.

Fate: the Winx Saga is Netflix’s latest fantasy offering, a spin on the beloved animated series Winx Club. Unlike Winx Club however, Fate is determined to tackle darker themes: Death, betrayal, shadowy monsters and of course, bitter romance.

The series follows a group of young women attending a magical boarding school called Alfea College, but it doesn’t take too long for danger to bring them together.

The heart of the show is the Winx Club (though they aren’t referred to as such): Bloom (Abigail Cowen), Stella (Hannah van der Westhuysen), Aisha (Precious Mustaph), Terra (Eliot Salt) and Musa (Elisha Applebaum).

We recently had the opportunity to sit down several members of the cast, exploring their time on the show and what they would like to happen next. Whose sisters loved the animated series, and lost their minds when their sibling got a part on Fate? Who misses the London Tube? What was it like working with showrunner Brian Young? Read on, and find out.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Musa ended up being one of my favorite characters, if only because unlike the rest of the group, she was really struggling with the nature of abilities. What exactly attracted you to playing her?

Elisha Applebaum (Musa): I love that she's very straight laced, she’s very honest. Because she has to be! The emotion is so overwhelming that she can just be like, I have to tell you the truth. And you're gonna have to take it because it hurts me. So I really liked how comfortable she was with just being honest and clear to people.

What did you find the most challenging about playing an already beloved and established character?

Hannah van der Westhuysen (Stella): Well, I think that's kind of one of the biggest challenges is that she was so iconic, and she is so established. And obviously, this version of Stella is not quite as kind to begin with as the original.

But I think what's nice, is the fans have been so open minded, and they've really been open to her journey towards becoming the character that everyone knows and loves so much. So that you kind of get the origin as to why she's still a little bit shady, but also a lot more full of love than she is at the beginning of Fate.

When preparing for this project, how did you make sure that your portrayal of the character of Musa is both fresh and familiar?

Elisha Applebaum: So, I watched one season of the animation and realised that she's very different. She's got a completely new power. So a lot of my research was done by meeting someone I knew who had headphones, who would wear them all the time, and trying to understand why they wear them, and why Musa would do the same. But yeah, a lot of it was very fresh, because the animation’s Musa is quite different. So it was a lot of finding out new things and doing my homework.

How does it feel to have the show be embraced by so many people so quickly? And what would you like to tell them?

Elisha Applebaum: I think we are so grateful to have such open minded fans. We've taken such a big leap from what the animation is, so for people to open their minds, and actually enjoy this just as much as they enjoy the animation is incredible. So we couldn't be more grateful for them loving what we've done with it. And we notice all of you, like, we notice all your love. And we would just want to say thank you, because we can't have done it without all of you.

Hannah van der Westhuysen: I completely second everything that Alicia said. The overwhelming amount of love is just so incredible. And also the fact that the original Winx fans, and now hopefully the Fate fans are such kind and loving people and the fact that the show has done so well. It's just really reassuring of how many lovely people there are in the world, I guess.

Your characters get up to a lot of shenanigans in Alfea. There's magic, learning, romance, combat, but what was it specifically about this wild fantasy world that excited you?

Hannah van der Westhuysen: For me, it's the reality of the relationships and being a teenager, and all of those very human aspects amongst this magical fairy world, which really kind of drew me in because I had such a rough time when I was that age, and from having that experience, I was then thinking, “Oh, imagine if I also had to learn how to control light and the elements.” I mean, that's a lot.

Elisha Applebaum: Yeah, the reality drew me in more than the magic to be honest.

What was it like working with the rest of the cast, and how did you build the chemistry that we see among the five fairies on-screen?

Hannah van der Westhuysen: I think it was just such a joy from the moment we met, we just hit it off so quickly. And we did loads of organized fun. We really explored Ireland together and just hung out. We'd spend like 12 hours on set together, go home, and then have a cup of tea or a glass of wine in the evening. It's like we didn't want to leave each other alone.

Elisha Applebaum: We became a proper family, really.

Hannah van der Westhuysen: Yeah. Definitely.

If you get the opportunity to further explore these characters in the future, what would you like to see more of?

Hannah van der Westhuysen: Well, I think it's time that Stella stood up to her mum, for sure. And I'm really excited to see her friendships run deep and more of her barriers to come down. I think that would be really lovely, you know, particularly with characters that she's struggled or had hardship with, like Bloom and Terra, and Aisha even.

Just having moments of really letting them in and realizing that's a safe thing to do. I think that's a really nice example for people watching. To see the joys of letting people in and being vulnerable.

Elisha Applebaum: I’d like to explore (Musa’s) past life and her family life. Because I think it's really interesting what happened to her mom, and why it happened. I also want to explore her powers more because she didn't really get to fight. Throughout the whole series, she was a bit of a lost cause.

Obviously, Fate is a big departure from the animated series in a lot of ways. But what parts of this show do you hope that fans who grew up with the original series connect with?

Elisha Applebaum: I think it would be great if they still connected with the magic. I think the magic is still there. And I hope we've created a space where people can still escape, like they did with the animation. And it would be amazing if they warmed to these new characters because in some ways, they feel extremely new.

Hannah van der Westhuysen: And also the friendship like, I think it would be a disservice if Brian (Brian Young, the showrunner) had written it the same as the animation, where they were all friends instantly - and it was just a load of fun adventures. Like, we've seen that, we've had that, and I think it's about being inspired by that and maybe finding the journey towards that. Along with the nuance of what it's really like to be at that age.

What was it like working with (showrunner) Brian Young?

Hannah van der Westhuysen: Oh, such a joy. He is such a creative ball of energy. And he was so encouraging. I mean, this project was his baby. It was his brainchild. And he really trusted us with it. Like, you know, we could go to him any time and say, “I was thinking this, what do you think about this, I think you should write that this happens to Stella.”

And he would always entertain us, even when it was the most stupid and ridiculous idea. And also, he really trusted us in the choices that we made, which was such a blessing.

Elisha Applebaum: Oh, he was great to work with. I mean, this is one of my first ever proper projects. And it was really nice. He was on set for the majority of the time, so he was there whenever you needed him to question a line or just for a big hug, really? Because he's just fab.

Did you have a personal favourite scene that you filmed in the show?

Elisha Applebaum: It would have to be the scene where Musa and Terra have bought Mr. Silva in, and he's really ill. Because every single person was on the set that day. And it was amazing. Being able to work as an ensemble and have everyone there, just for a day, and just see these amazing people work... It was amazing. That was my favorite day.

Hannah van der Westhuysen: Yeah, similarly, mine was a day where everyone was there. It's actually the scene in the tunnel - Aisha wasn’t in that scene, but she was on set that day. And it's really lovely, because there's that shared moment between Stella and Tara, where she shares her light with her.

And it was so nice, because it felt like I didn't have to act anymore. I could actually just be friends with everyone like we naturally were. In the scene, we're doing this thing for Bloom and pulling together. But in reality, it felt like I was pulling together with my actual friends to create this really magical moment. It was just such a joy.

Unlike the other girls, Terra's actually a new character introduced in Fate. How did you approach your character?

Eliot Salt (Terra): Well, I think I was quite lucky in that I was able to build the character the way I saw her, within what was already written. So I like to do a thing where I just have the character in my head for however many weeks before filming. So you know, if I go and order a coffee, then I'll be like, “Well, what would Terra want?”

And what would you be thinking if this happened in the Tube (London Underground trains) or whatever? You know, back in the days when we could actually get on the Tube? I do lots of things. But I think that's the one that I find most useful.

Your characters get up to a lot of shenanigans in Alfea. There's magic, learning, romance and combat, but what was it specifically about this wild fantasy world that excited you?

Precious Mustapha (Aisha): I think I grew up watching shows like Fate. For example, like Vampire Diaries, I was such a huge fan of that show. I fangirled with that show!

So Fate really excited me because I like the idea of being in a YA (young adult) story that my teenage self would have always wanted to be a part of. So yeah, I guess it was exciting to bring a character that I think young girls and young boys can relate to. I think that's what really excited me.

The cast seems to have bonded quite a bit with one another after filming the show. What was that like?

Eliot Salt: We all got really, really close straight away. We felt really lucky because we all just clicked.

Precious Mustapha: It was so organic, and nothing was forced. And it was really nice, because I think this was the first major thing that we've all done. We had this ‘We're all in this together’ mentality, which was really great. And yeah, we did loads of stuff. We had dinners together. We all lived in the same apartment building. It felt like a dorm, which was the vibe of the show anyway. We just naturally became friends.

Eliot Salt: We did that escape room. 

Precious Mustapha: We did do an escape room.

Eliot Salt: I always think that’s a real test of friendship, if you can do that without a cross word spoken. 

Precious Mustapha: And we escaped in record time, might I add!

Eliot Salt: We did! We made the leaderboard.

If you get the opportunity to further explore these characters in the future, what would you like to see more of?

Precious Mustapha: I'd love to do more scenes with the girls. Season 1 follows the girls individually at times, or sometimes two of them at a time. I think it'd be really nice to develop these friendships. For my character, specifically, I'd love to know why she's at Alfea, her background and why she is the way she is.

Eliot Salt: It’s similar for me too, I’d like to see all of our relationships develop. And I think there's so many ways that that could go, and how they could become more complicated. I’d quite like Tara to have a successful romance because she was so let down in the first season. I feel like she deserves it. And then obviously, I'd love to see more characters like Flora (from the animated series).

Winx Club is something a lot of people grew up with. Were you familiar with the animated series before going into Fate? And if so, was it daunting to bring these characters to life? 

Precious Mustapha: I have two younger sisters, so they were obsessed with Winx Club and it was always on in my house. And I think I was just a bit older, so I wasn't as invested as my sisters were, but I did watch a few episodes before we started filming just to kind of get to know the characters and who they were.

Eliot Salt: Me and my sister, I think really missed out because I think we were totally the wrong age. Or we didn't have the right channel. I didn't know, we can blame my mom and dad, but we missed it. And so, I came in not knowing very much about it at all.

I had no idea how huge it is and how many people love it, which, you know, I wish I'd known for some reasons, but for others, I'm quite glad because I think I would have been absolutely terrified. I came into Fate very jolly.

Precious, how did your sisters react to you getting a part on the show?

Precious Mustapha: Okay, so I remember being in my room when I found out. My sister was just chilling in my room as well. And then I got a call, and I was told that I got it. And I just remember screaming. And because I'd been speaking about it for so long in the house, everyone knew what it was.

So we were all just screaming in the house. And yeah, they were super excited, because we’re bringing characters that they've loved for so long to life. That was exciting for them. 

Fate rocketed to Netflix’s Top 10 in multiple countries after its debut. What about the show would you hope is connecting with so many people?

Eliot Salt: I think there's something about the fantasy genre that people can really connect with, because it puts you in so many different kinds of situations. You're thrown into so many extremes. And at the same time, all of these normal, everyday problems too.

I think it’s really easy to see yourself in these characters, and I think it’s fun seeing a group of young people work together, especially women.

Precious Mustapha: I completely agree. It's just really nice to watch female friendship onscreen and I think that's why it's resonated with so many people. It's just been really overwhelming and heartwarming to know that people really love the work that we've done and love these characters. Yeah, hopefully we can continue to explore them (Fate hasn’t been renewed for a second season yet).

What do you hope the audience takes away from your characters?

Eliot Salt: It's important, trying to be kind to everybody. Obviously, to acknowledge your own strengths and your own good traits and not apologise for yourself too much. I think that's something I didn't realize until I was older, that no one really wants you to say sorry for existing. So don't do it.

Precious Mustapha: From Aisha, I think people can take away... Standing your ground. I feel like if you believe something is right, then you shouldn't be scared to vocalize that. She is never scared to vocalise if she agrees or disagrees with anyone.

And I think sometimes it's to her detriment. But other times, it's actually quite a brave thing. To be able to stick to your guns and do what you believe in, because a lot of people are quite scared to do that. Because of judgement. I don't feel like Aisha is scared to be judged.

What was it like working with Brian Young?

Precious Mustapha: He's just so lovely. Brian is the sweetest person ever. And he's always laughing. He was always on set. You don't often get the people who are in charge of the show, always active on the show and on-set, but he was always really present and just really positive. He trusted that we were always going to do the best job for these characters. And I really appreciated that.

Eliot Salt: I agree. He was always there, especially when the weather was horrible. He always seemed to be there and so positive, even soaking wet. It felt like you were doing a good job if he was around, which is nice.

I know some cast members like to listen to certain music playlists to hype themselves up before a big scene. Did you do anything specific like that, to prepare before a big scene?

Precious Mustapha: I tend to refer back to music for a lot of the work I do. My logic is that everyone listens to music, so it's a good way of kind of getting into the zone of a character. I made a playlist for Aisha that I've referred to for certain scenes.

Eliot Salt: I wish I'd done a playlist - maybe I'll do one if we get to Season 2. I think the scenes where I had to be quite upset, which God bless Terra, happens quite a lot, I did listen to some songs that reminded me of sad things that have happened. I did that a little bit, but not loads. 

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.