‘Wednesday’: Jenna Ortega and Christina Ricci’s Wednesday Addams Are Completely Different Characters
Netflix is known for producing great original series. It seems like Tim Burton’s new Wednesday series is another hit on Netflix’s horizon.
The new show will star some well-known actors, like Luis Guzman as Gomez Addams, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams. There are also some relatively new faces, like Jenna Ortega as Wednesday.
Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in a 1990s version of The Addams Family, will be on the show in a new role. Apparently, she didn’t advise Ortega on how best to play Wednesday Addams.
‘Wednesday’ is Tim Burton’s highly anticipated Netflix show
Wednesday is billed as a comedy series, but with Burton at the helm, fans can expect a good share of scary in there too. Especially considering the subject matter. The Addams are spooky, after all.
The Addams may be well-known characters, but Burton promises to put his own spin on the familiar family. In the official trailer on YouTube, Wednesday is sent to a new school after being expelled from a public high school.
According to Gomez, the school is where he and Morticia met. Nevermore is a magical place and promises more of the paranormal than fans have seen from the Addams house alone in the previous series.
In fact, in previous iterations of the Addams, the characters have always been set against a backdrop of “normal” suburban life. In this new series, Wednesday will be in her element, which makes it separate from The Addams Family of films past.
Jenna Ortega and Christina Ricci never discussed how to best portray Wednesday Addams
The difference between Wednesday and The Addams Family was not lost on Ortega. She knows that the character she is playing, while familiar to many, is completely new in a lot of ways. That’s a complicated place to be. Ortega seems to have mastered Wednesday’s familiar mannerisms and affect, which sells her as the character completely.
Interestingly, Ricci didn’t help Ortega with those mannerisms at all. Even though Ricci played Wednesday in The Addams Family movie, she didn’t give Ortega tips when they were on set together filming Wednesday. According to an interview with EW, Ortega says that the two were aware that Ricci’s Wednesday and the current Wednesday are two different characters.
Ortega said that the two never addressed the fact that both she and Ricci have been Wednesday Addams. Ortega said, “We never talked about it once. I think one time I accidentally slipped and said, ‘Oh well, you’re Wednesday.'”
Ortega said that a conversation wouldn’t have been productive because this project is so different from The Addams Family movie Ricci did when she was just 11 years old. Ortega claims “there’s powers in this, it’s a different town,” and that her Wednesday is “almost a different person.”
What else has Jenna Ortega been in?
Ortega talked to EW about getting an email saying that Burton wanted to talk to her. She was surprised, considering she’s pretty sure Burton hasn’t seen any of her previous projects. Ortega may actually be wrong about that. Even though she’s just 20 years old, Ortega has built up an impressive resume.
She’s never been the leading lady of a critically acclaimed show or movie, but making a living as an actor at her age is an impressive feat, even if there are no big shiny roles in her filmography. According to IMDb, Ortega started acting when she was around 10. She played a few bit parts in big movies and shows, like CSI: NY and Iron Man 3.
When she was still a teenager, Ortega starred in Stuck in the Middle and had a recurring role in You. More recently, the actor starred in the horror movies Scream and X. All in all, she’s more than paid her dues and earned her role as Wednesday.
