‘Wednesday’: Tim Burton Laughed at Jenna Ortega During Her Zoom Audition
Jenna Ortega is set to darken the small-screen as a newer rendition of the macabre teen Wednesday Addams. While the character has had a few adaptations since Christina Ricci’s version, Ortega will be one of the newest live-action versions in the Tim Burton Netflix series. When it came to auditioning for Wednesday, Ortega reveals why Burton burst out laughing.
‘Wednesday’ tells a more adult and gory version of the famed character
Fans should get ready for a version of Wednesday they might not be used to. The Netflix series promises to stay true to who the character is at heart, but with a few grown-up tweaks. For the first time, fans get a sole focus on the character as she is a teenager and attends Nevermore Academy. While including key characters like Gomez and Morticia Addams, the series introduces many new characters.
The premise of Wednesday focuses on the macabre teen who has recently been plagued with visions. She is not keen on attending Nevermore, the place for outcasts and where her parents fell in love. While determined to leave, the mysteries and murders in the local town have her intrigued.
Wednesday is Tim Burton’s first small-screen series after his long, award-winning career on the big screen. The director reveals Wednesday Addams speaks to him and how he sees the world. He has even admitted he would have dated someone like Wednesday in his youth.
When it came to Burton casting the perfect actor for Wednesday, Jenna Ortega was a done deal. The actor has been compared to the macabre character all her life and reveals why Burton laughed during her audition.
Jenna Ortega was still wearing her bloody ‘X’ makeup when she auditioned for Tim Burton for ‘Wednesday’
When discussing her interview process with ExtraTV, Ortega explained she felt like she was being pranked. “I got an email saying Tim wanted to speak to me. And I just like heard about the job, and it’s kind of random. You almost feel like you’re being pranked or something because there’s no way someone so legendary, such a visionary. I truly felt very, very lucky,” explained Ortega.
But Ortega’s audition with the legendary director is particularly kooky and exemplifies why the actor was perfect for the role. According to Collider, Ortega spoke with Wired and revealed how her Zoom audition went.
“It was funny because when I met Tim Burton for my Wednesday audition, I had just done [my death scene in X] so I had stage blood and glycerin sweat in my hair, and a massive cut on my face, and had been up for over 24 hours. I got on the Zoom and he actually laughed. It made me laugh. I thought it was endearing,” said Ortega.
For most directors, an actor sporting bloody and horrifying makeup would be a no-deal. But seeing as Wednesday has gore, a bit of murder, and from the mind of Tim Burton, Ortega sealed the deal in an instant. Ortega played the role of Lorraine Day in the prequel movie X. The character meets a shockingly bloody and horrifying fate, hence Ortega being covered in blood.
Jenna Ortega made her on-set interactions with Christina Ricci odd
Ricci joins the list of actors who have portrayed Wednesday Addams on the small and big screen. While the character has been popular since the cartoon originals, there is no denying Christina Ricci made the character a pop culture icon. For Burton’s Wednesday, many fans wondered if Ricci would return in some capacity alongside Ortega.
Ricci was revealed to join the cast as the normie teacher at Nevermore named Marilyn Thornhill. Her character has no connection to her iconic role. But Ortega reveals on Jimmy Kimmel Live that their interactions were a bit bizarre. The actor shares she felt she had made it “weird.”
Ortega explains part of the reasoning was her being dressed exactly how Ricci looked in the 90s. She also explains she can have a dark sense of humor that Ricci would reply with, “that’s dark.” But Ortega applauds Ricci’s professionalism and ability to understand her frustrations with playing the emotionless Wednesday Addams.
