Wednesday: Jenna Ortega Details the “Stressful and Confusing” Challenges of the Addams Family Spinoff

Getting to bring a beloved character to life presents a number of exciting opportunities for a performer, though in the case of Wednesday, star Jenna Ortega recently reflected on how having multiple directors involved in helming episodes of the Addams Family spinoff meant conflicting ideas on how best to honor the figure in live-action. While Tim Burton was the prevailing creative voice in regards to the direction of the project, different directors embraced different elements of the character, with Ortega pointing out that one of the most fulfilling components of the whole project was the confidence she developed in her craft. Wednesday is set to premiere on Netflix on November 23rd.

“I would call my parents every night in a panic because I felt like it was different from any job I had ever done before where I typically have that time to sit into the character,” Ortega recalled during a conversation with Christina Ricci for Interview Magazine. “I got out to Romania and we started training and shooting immediately. We didn’t really have time for rehearsals. I remember it being very stressful and confusing. I did the best I could, but that’s probably the most overwhelming job I’ve ever had.”

She continued, “There have never been so many cooks in the kitchen. I was completely lost and confused. Typically I have no problem using my voice, but when you’re in it — I just remember feeling defeated after the first month. So I think something really wonderful that has come out of the show is that I can use my voice in a much stronger way than I ever have. I’ve been so much better about being honest about my opinions and thoughts, which I’m really grateful for.”

With the character’s history going back decades and with Ricci herself having brought the figure to life for two films, Ortega detailed those challenges of exemplifying various facets of Wednesday.

“We were going from Tim to another director, back to Tim, to another director. I felt like everybody wanted different things from her,” the actor recalled. “I remember Tim did not want me to have any expression or emotion at all. He wanted a flat surface, which I understand. It’s funny and great except when you’re trying to move a plot along, and Wednesday is in every scene. There were a lot of battles like that because I felt like people didn’t always trust me when I was creating my path in terms of, ‘Okay, this is her arc. This is where she gets emotional.’ And then also, we jump into the first episode and so much is happening. You have to introduce the whole story. Meanwhile, I’m still finding my footing, and then it’s the cello lessons and the archery lessons and this and that.”

Luckily, with Burton being the dominating voice of the experience and him trusting Ortega, he ensured that her concerns were heard by the creatives involved in the production.

“It’s like a fight, and you get to a point where, when you love and respect a character enough, all you want to do is protect them,” Ortega admitted. “Another way they pitched the show to me was, ‘Oh, we’re trying to humanize her and make her so that she’s still relatable. But this isn’t like some cartoon.’ But it kind of is. I felt like sometimes in the attempt to make her a human girl, they were trying to make her any other teenage girl. I remember Tim being really wonderful about things like that and calling me to his trailer in the mornings and saying, ‘What are you uncomfortable saying? What do you want to say?’ When you have supportive collaborators like Tim, it makes it a lot easier. There were a couple people like that on set who were my rocks, for sure.”

Wednesday is set to premiere on Netflix on November 23rd.

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