How Jenna Ortega Prepared to Play Wednesday
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Latina actress Jenna Ortega started acting in television and film as a child, playing everything from a young Jane in “Jane the Virgin” to starring in her own Disney Channel show “Stuck in the Middle.” From her teens into young adulthood, she found herself taking on darker projects like Netflix’s “You” and the “Scream” franchise. But getting into horror territory wasn’t unusual for Ortega, as she’s always had an interest in the macabre and a dark sense of humor. Growing up, she said she was often likened to the quintessential goth girl Wednesday Addams. So, it was fate when her name came up to possibly play the titular teenage Wednesday in a new Netflix series. While filming Ti West’s slasher movie “X”, Ortega landed a Zoom audition with the legendary Tim Burton, who was attached to the Addams family spinoff as a director and executive producer. The series was described as a coming-of-age supernatural mystery following the antisocial Wednesday Addams as she attends Nevermore Academy boarding school and becomes an amateur detective. And a notable aspect of this interpretation was that for the first time, they would be representing her Latinx heritage, which the character’s real-life creator Charles Addams also possessed. Naturally, there’s a lot of pressure and expectations when taking on an iconic character with an established fan base - especially when it’s the character’s first time in the spotlight. In previous projects, she’s only served up one-liners while the adults got the most screen time. But Ortega was up for the challenge. She was tasked with infusing Wednesday with a personality that hasn’t been fleshed out in the past. At Nevermore, she’s surrounded by people her age, the majority of them supernatural beings. That requires a different skillset in terms of acting and reacting while staying true to Wednesday’s signature lack of emotion. Plus, she has her own budding psychic abilities to harness.
Embodying an Icon
To really become Wednesday Addams, Jenna Ortega knew she needed to master the character’s physicality. That meant changing her posture, mannerisms, and even the way she walked. Wednesday has always been unapologetically herself and Ortega wanted to convey confidence in the way she carried herself. As Wednesday tries to solve the big mystery, she approaches anyone and everyone telling them exactly what she requires, whether it be a mode of transportation or someone to act as a lookout. With intense eye contact and a guarded exterior, the actress brings an intimidating level of assertiveness. Wednesday is known and loved for her stoicism. Ortega went as far as not even blinking in scenes. However, this particular coming-of-age journey for Wednesday warranted changes to her usual expressionless face. Ortega found the right balance of aloofness and charm, making her character more relatable. When she interacts with the students of Nevermore and the residents of Jericho, she still comes off as cold and apathetic. But she’s not completely heartless. She finds herself connecting with a small number of people who bring out a smirk or two. Showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar wrote an interpretation of Wednesday reminiscent of the ‘90s version inhabited by the talented Christina Ricci. Ortega made sure to embody the character’s most popular traits, especially the trademark dry, sarcasm-laced responses with deadpan delivery, requiring the actress to adjust her pitch. Wednesday’s also incredibly smart with a sizable vocabulary, speaking with a strong sense of formality, another trait Ortega nailed to perfection. Additionally, Ortega learned German because of course Wednesday Addams speaks multiple languages.
Gothic Glamor for the Modern Age
A modern take on Wednesday Addams’ wardrobe could go in a few different ways, but Burton’s longtime collaborator and award-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood went classic goth with some contemporary elements. When we see Wednesday in the first episode, she’s wearing a white collared black and floral dress, which is a look that we’re familiar with. But after she’s sent to boarding school, she’s in a more Dark Academia aesthetic. The Nevermore uniform has black and bluish-purple stripes that really pop against the gothic backdrop. A big part of Wednesday is her individuality and there’s no way she would ever conform to a dress code, so she wears a special uniform with gray and black stripes. She is allergic to color, after all. Jenna Ortega cited Billie Eilish as inspiration and the singer’s style definitely comes through in Wednesday’s casual fashion. You’ll find her wearing oversized hoodies and platform sneakers as well as cardigans and leather jackets. Of course, everything is in her signature colors, so a lot of pieces are different patterns of black and white, even Enid’s homemade snood. But the real showstopper was the Rave’N Dance dress, which Atwood revealed to be an Alaïa gown. Without veering too far away from the Wednesday we’re used to seeing, Burton wanted a different style for the character’s famous long-braided pigtails. After some experimentation, Ortega tried out clip-on bangs that Burton liked but didn’t love. So she told the hairdresser to just cut her some real bangs and the rest was history. Now that’s commitment.
Wednesday Addams: Renaissance Woman
Unlike the Wednesdays before her, this modern version does more than just experimentally torture her siblings. Well, she still does that - but at school, she’s given the time and space to explore her other interests. Other than writing her novel and solving murders, Wednesday likes to play the cello, meaning Ortega needed to take lessons twice a week to learn the instrument. She had two epic solos in the series and we can see her hard work definitely paid off. Ortega also dedicated time to learning fencing, a canonical pastime of Gomez Addams. In the first episode, she challenges Nevermore’s queen bee, Bianca Barclay, to a duel, wowing the on-screen spectators as well as us in the audience. Filming the Poe Cup race required Ortega to have some canoeing skills as well. And as seen in 1993’s “Addams Family Values”, Ricci’s Wednesday did some archery, which we get a taste of with Ortega’s Wednesday. On top of fencing, canoeing, and archery, she also practiced boxing, which we can assume contributed to Wednesday’s flawless fighting scenes. While juggling her various lessons, Ortega found time to choreograph Wednesday’s instantly iconic dance to The Cramps’ “Goo Goo Muck”. It’s a perfect blend of the character’s own quirkiness and the killer moves of her parents we’ve seen in previous iterations of the couple. Ortega took inspiration from an eclectic array of influences like 80s punk dancing, rock legend Siouxsie Sioux and the distinct stylings of famed choreographer Bob Fosse. She also made sure to pay homage to the beloved 1960s sitcom with Lisa Loring’s little Wednesday shuffle and the flourishes of John Astin’s Gomez. The actress definitely understood the assignment, not to mention she had to pull this off while in the early stages of COVID.
Jenna Ortega, a Star on the Rise
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Despite all the pressure and stress of bringing a character to life on screen, Jenna Ortega crafted her own version of Wednesday Addams that had audiences immediately obsessed. Her refreshing take on the iconic outcast demonstrates many talents, forms interpersonal relationships, and fearlessly hunts monsters. The actress said that playing Wednesday was the “most overwhelming job” she’s ever had and after learning about all the ways she prepared for the role, it’s no surprise she was overwhelmed. But since its November 2022 recording-breaking premiere, Ortega’s received a massive amount of praise from colleagues and viewers alike, who see she’s an extraordinary talent that has way more ahead of her. She’s now just as iconic as the gifted, gloomy, and glam Wednesday Addams.
