Jenna Ortega is so expertly cast as Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s hit series that it’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. However, that was almost the case.
The 20-year-old actress revealed in a recent interview that she initially passed on the role. Not once, either.
She explained why she had hesitations to sign on for Wednesday. She also broke down what ultimately convinced her to join the project.
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“I got the email, passed on it,” Jenna told The Times.
She noted it was about her desire to do more film work instead.
“I had done so much TV in my life,” she explained. “When I first started acting, I don’t want to say nobody believed in me, but at the same time, nobody believed in me. You have to prove yourself. It’s only in the last three or four years that I’ve been able to start going up for film. I was scared that by signing on to another television show it could prevent me from doing other jobs I really wanted and cared about.”
Ultimately, it was director Tim Burton‘s involvement that made her rethink her decision.
“The only reason I went back is because Tim is such a legend, and we just happened to get along very well,” she admitted. “But even then I said, ‘Ah, no — I think I’m OK,’ a couple [more] times.”
Even after accepting the role, Jenna admitted that she was nervous about how it would be received.
“The cast and I, I remember, we used to talk about it in Romania, we were like, ‘Hey, what do you think will happen with the show?’” she recalled. “That was it, that was the most we ever really got into it. So I thought it wasn’t going to be watched. That it will be a nice little gem that someone finds.”
Of course, Wednesday was a smash hit that emerged as one of the biggest shows in the history of Netflix. It was renewed for a second season shortly after premiering to rave reviews.
After accepting the role, Jenna did take some creative risks to make sure that the iconic character was portrayed correctly.
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