Actress Jumps Into ABC's 'Wonderland' Rabbit Hole

When Sophie Lowe's latest visit to Hollywood failed to yield work, the young actress flew back home to Australia — and quickly fell down a rabbit hole.

Within a day of returning to Sydney, Lowe had recorded an audition for "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland." Two days later she was asked to fly back to Los Angeles for another test, and within a week had the starring role of Alice.

"It happened so fast, it was just crazy," said Lowe, 23, still marveling over the unexpected new chapter in her career that had been focused on movies including the recently released "Adore" with Naomi Watts and Robin Wright.

The ABC series debuting Thursday is a relation of "Once Upon a Time," which brings fairy tale characters into the real world. "Wonderland" takes Lewis Carroll's tale in a different direction, with a mature Alice returned from her adventure to a cynical reception and mental institute.

But Alice has reason to believe in and yearn for what she's left behind, including the obligatory Cheshire cat and a certain genie, Cyril (Peter Gadiot), who has captured her heart. She seizes a chance to bolt Victorian England and return to the land where possible romance and certain danger await.

Forget Carroll's wide-eyed, girlish heroine; this one is ready for love and action and, said Lowe, is an actress' delight. There is deep emotion but also stunts to be done and punches to be thrown.

"She's a very strong woman, mentally and physically," Lowe said. "It's really fun to play because usually I play roles that are more weak, (but) this is inspiring to people and even myself. It's really uplifting to play a strong woman."

Lowe is 5-foot-7, but her delicate face and slender form make her emergence as a rough-and-tumble Alice unexpected. It's also encouraging to see an actress get onto U.S. TV screens without losing her fresh beauty to the homogenizing glamor factory.

It was the combination of her talent and beguiling look that made her right for "Wonderland," said executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, who also are behind "Once Upon a Time."

"The minute we saw her on tape from Sydney it was undeniable," said Kitsis. "When she smiles, you immediately root for her. We always wanted Alice to be natural and feel real. We wanted to take the icon to a real woman, and Sophie to us was everything we wanted Alice to be."