Jenna Ortega says she purposely didn’t consult Christina Ricci before taking on Wednesday role
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV
Daisy Phillipson
Featured Image Credit: Netflix/AJ Pics/Alamy
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV
Jenna Ortega has said she purposely didn't consult Christina Ricci before taking on the role of Wednesday Addams in Tim Burton's new show.
For anyone who's seen the latest Addams Family spinoff, you'll know that it perfectly combines nostalgia and callbacks to our fave macabre family while also offering a fresh new spin on the franchise.
And Ortega absolutely nails it as our leading goth girl.
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What's more, Netflix's Wednesday also stars Ricci, who played the titular character in the 90s hits The Addams Family and Addams Family Values.
In Netflix's iteration, she plays Marylin Thornhill, a teacher at Nevermore Academy who holds classes on the wonders of carnivorous plants.
Although you might expect both Ricci and Ortega to exchange notes on how to play the smart and sarcastic Addams daughter, this wasn't the case.
Explaining why in a new interview with MTV News, Ortega said: "I think when she [Ricci] was on set, neither one of us said 'Wednesday' once to each other.
"I think because she knew not to say anything to me because what is she going to say or do and I don’t think she wanted to get in the way of my performance and feel like she was overbearing.
"And then I felt like I didn’t want to pull up something that she did 30 years ago, for one, the sake of my own benefit, but two, I didn’t want to rip her off and I didn’t want to be too much like her."
Going on to note the differences between the 90s films and the new series, the 20-year-old actress continued: "Our show has super powers and outcasts and evil ghost pilgrims so they're two very different people, our Wednesdays."
Earlier on in the interview, Ortega admitted that she felt an 'immense pressure' to get the character right as she's so beloved amongst the fans.
"I’ve never played someone who’s been done before so I think that that was a really interesting thing for me," she added.
"I have a lot of respect for the character. We’ve never spent as much time with Wednesday on camera before.
"I think there’s gonna be some more depth or some more emotional range that we haven’t really seen from her before."
As someone who has seen the show from start to finish, I can confirm this is true.
Earlier this week, Ortega proved she was the perfect person for the role after admitting that she used to 'perform autopsies on little animals'.
The Jeffrey Dahmer-esque admission came up when she spoke with Wired about her friendship with Maddie Ziegler, a fellow actor who she starred in HBO's The Fallout with.
"She's one of my greatest friends ever, she was somebody that I instantly clicked with," she said.
"We did a movie called The Fallout a couple of years back and I feel like Maddie and I are the same person in different fonts."
Describing Maddie as 'such a weirdo', Jenna went on to say: "I'm a weirdo in the 'used to perform autopsies on little animals when I was younger' [kind of way].
"Like little lizards that I found that were dead in my backyard."
Well, you can't deny that she fits right in with the Addams Family.
If you want to see her turn in the hit new series, Wednesday is available to watch on Netflix now.