Fred Armisen as Fester Addams in 'Wednesday' series.

‘Wednesday’: Did Fred Armisen Really Shave His Head to Play Uncle Fester? Like His Predecessor

Christopher Lloyd played Fester Addams in the 1991 movie franchise. To embody the character, he had no problem shaving his head, and Fred Armisen follows in his footsteps for a valid reason.

by Gabriela Silva

Published on October 10, 2022

3 min read

Christopher Lloyd embodied the role of Fester Addams – down to the lack of hair

Back to the Future is not the only pop-culture movie franchise Christopher Lloyd became infamous for. After making his mark in the movies, Lloyd joined Raul Julia, Christina Ricci and Anjelica Huston, and Jimmy Workman in The Addams Family in 1991. He starred as the cooky and electrically charged-wielding character of Uncle Fester.

Since the original cartoons, each member of the Addams family has had a distinct look. While Gomez, Morticia, and Wednesday adorned pitch-black hair, Fester was the opposite. He is known for wearing a long coat, sunken-in-dark eyes, and a bald head.

When it came to embody the character, Lloyd went above and beyond. According to Buzzfeed, Lloyd had no problem shaving his head. “The makeup people came up with prosthetics to put on my face to give me that round look and I had no trouble shaving my head to be bald. After I got made up, they wanted to test it to see how it’d look on camera so Raúl Juliá and I did a scene, just so they could see how the makeup worked out,” explained the actor.

Even before the role, Lloyd was a fan of the original cartoons. “I grew up on Charles Addams’ cartoons, particularly The Addams Family and Uncle Fester was always one of my favorites,” said Llyod. His dedication to the character came from his existing love for Fester. But as Fred Armisen is set to take on Fester Addams in Wednesday, did he also commit like Lloyd?

Fred Armisen did not want to bother with bald caps for ‘Wednesday’

At New York Comic Con 2022, fans got the exclusive when Armisen appeared on stage and was announced to play the role of Fester Addams in Wednesday. The newly released trailer shows the character for the first time as he comes to his niece’s rescue. In true Fester fashion, Armisen is dressed in a long coat, morbidly pale skin, electric powers, and sunken-in eyes. Above all, Armisen sports Fester’s iconic bald head.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Armisen confirms, “I shaved my head for it.” Much like Lloyd, Armisen had no problem doing it to achieve the perfect look. But the actor also reveals it is to avoid the complications in a bald cap.

“They really did such a great job with the makeup and everything. I had no eyebrows. It was prosthetics over my eyebrows to give me that look. But I think that bald caps don’t look great all the time, so I was hoping to just make it that much more convincing,” said the actor.

But as Wednesday is a new take on the Addams Family with nostalgic elements, Armisen wanted to stick to familiarity for Fester. “I wasn’t thinking in terms of what I can bring to it to make it different. I thought, No, I want the Jackie Coogan version. That’s the version I can hear. Christopher Lloyd’s is amazing too. I wanted to just keep it there,” explained Armisen. “I didn’t have any designs on, ‘Well, now I’m going to add this element….’ No, this is someone who likes wearing those big coats, and is enjoying his own eccentricities.”

What can fans expect from the actor as the fun Uncle Fester in ‘Wednesday’?

In the trailer, fans know Wednesday kept to Uncle Fester’s unique trait of having electricity run through his body. But above all, the series stays true to his loving relationship with his niece, Wednesday.

While Fester is on the run in the series, Armisen explains, “he has a strong link to the family and to Wednesday. They have a really good time together, and they help each other. It’s a real family thing, but they’re friends as well.”

The actor explains Fester in himself is cooky, but not in an evil or sinister way. “He’s a mix of being a weirdo, and he also seems happy. He’s a happy monster. There’s nothing grumpy about him,” said Armisen. Fans got a small taste of what can be expected from Armisen as Uncle Fester in Wednesday but can look forward to the fun and twisted family dynamics that made the Addams so popular.

Wednesday will premiere on Netflix on Nov. 23.