Jenna Ortega opens up about her physical transformation into the Addams family’s macabre daughter in Wednesday, one that fans may find surprising. Netflix first announced the series in February 2021 with Tim Burton at the helm, a long-fantasized choice for the gothic franchise. Over the years, The Addams Family has jumped around tonally, with the 1964 television series portraying the clan as mysterious but kooky and ultimately wholesome, and Barry Sonnenfeld’s feature film adaptations from the early ’90s giving the family a darker disposition. Two animated reboots from 2019 and 2021 maintained qualities of several different runs but received a half-hearted reception from critics and audiences alike.
Whereas most Addams Family projects focus on the day-to-day activities of Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Wednesday, Uncle Fester, Lurch, and several other characters, Burton’s series will go somewhere else: Nevermore Academy, and focus on an older Wednesday specifically. Her casting was the first officially revealed, with then-18-year-old Jenna Ortega announced as Wednesday Addams. Luis Guzman and Catherine Zeta-Jones were announced as Gomez and Morticia sometime later. Despite a couple of roles in horror projects such as The Babysitter: Killer Queen and 2022’s Scream, Ortega has never taken on a legacy role like Wednesday in such a beloved supernatural franchise.
Talking to THR, Ortega discusses her approach to taking on such an iconic character and teases her transformation. “I cut my hair, and it’s black, and mannerism-wise, speaking cadence-wise, expression-wise, I’m trying to pull from a different toolbox this time around,” she says. Ortega has not necessarily suffered from typecasting in her previous roles, but she’s never embodied such a distinctly unique character as Wednesday either. Check out the full quote below:
I think it’s probably the most physical transformation I’ve ever done; I cut my hair, and it’s black, and mannerism-wise, speaking cadence-wise, expression-wise, I’m trying to pull from a different toolbox this time around. I think it’s a surprise to the audience, but myself as well.
Ortega has naturally darker hair, but the prospect of cutting it could imply that her teenage version of Wednesday will have shorter hair. Fans of Broadway will know that this is not a new look for Wednesday, as several iterations in The Addams Family musical showed the character with shoulder-length hair instead of her typical pigtails. Still, a Wednesday script page details “two perfect braids,” harkening back to the classic look. As for her comments about the cadence and expressions, they do seem to hint back to the deadpan manner of Christina Ricci and Chloë Grace Moretz’s versions of Wednesday.
While fans of film and TV have become accustomed to Wednesday’s signature look over nearly 60 years, it is also that of a child. Burton appears keen to explore the character’s growth away from her family, and part of the teenage lifecycle is dealing with one’s identity. Wednesday’s potential new appearance, braids or not, and expanded outlook on the world could be a defining aspect of her development within the series, even if it does come as a shock to viewers. Either way, Burton’s vision will be interesting to see since he turned down directing the 1991 Addams Family only to revisit the franchise with Wednesday, an entirely fresh approach to the classic franchise.
