Jenna Ortega Explains Why Playing Teenage Wednesday Addams Is Challenging
Wednesday star Jenna Ortega talks about the challenges of playing the teenage version of Wednesday Addams. Ortega, having gotten her start in television through roles in Jane the Virgin and Netflix's You, is turning quickly into a «scream queen» with appearances in horror movies like Scream (2022,) Studio 666, and X. Aside from acting, she's also recognized for her philanthropy and activism against discrimination, as well as becoming a brand ambassador for Neutrogena in 2020.
Netflix's upcoming series, Wednesday, follows Wednesday Addams, daughter of The Addams Family, a satirical inversion of the ideal American family with a fondness for the macabre and the frightening. Based on a long-running comic strip, the family has seen adaptions for TV, stage, video games, and film, with the most recent being The Addams Family 2in 2021. Wednesday is usually portrayed as emotionless and sadistic around the age of 12, with the new series featuring her as a high school student with psychic abilities. Other cast members include Riki Lindhome, Gwendoline Christie, Jamie McShane, and Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams.
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In an interview with EW, Ortega talks about the challenges of playing the character as a teenager, citing difficulties in making the character sound authentic. She mentions how Wednesday's emotionless nature makes it tricky for her to have an emotional arc over the eight-episode series. Ortega also opens up about the challenge of portraying a well-known character whose been played and reinterpreted many times. Read Ortega's quote below:
We've never seen her as a teenage girl. You know, it's funny and sweet and almost charming to hear
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