Jenna Ortega Knew She Was Never Getting ‘Wednesday’ if Tim Burton Didn’t Find 2 Things about Her Appealing

Jenna Ortega gained worldwide recognition for her role as Wednesday Addams in the hit Netflix series. Wednesday, executively produced and partially directed by goth legend Tim Burton, acted as a significant career boost for the 21-year-old actress.

For her work in numerous horror projects, Jenna Ortega has been crowned as a prominent “screen queen” in the industry. Despite giving loads of effort to perfectly play Wednesday, Ortega claimed that she would have never gotten the role if two major elements had not appealed to Tim Burton.

Jenna Ortega gave immense effort to perfectly succeed Christina Ricci, who played the role in 1991’s The Addams Family. She researched more about the character and worked on her mannerisms to make the role memorable and critically appreciated.

What did Jenna Ortega think as the potential reasons for her Wednesday casting?

Surprisingly, Jenna Ortega did not want to helm the show initially as she was desperately trying to get more films. But as soon as she heard Tim Burton was involved with the Netflix series, she was more than willing to essay the titular role on Wednesday.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the Scream (2022) actress was asked if it was her dark sense of humor that made her land the role. She revealed about the casting process that it was last minute. After getting to know that the legendary filmmaker Tim Burton wanted to meet her, Jenna Ortega was so “excited” to meet Burton that she could not even grasp the scale of the series.

When asked about the potential reasons that led to Burton seeking her, Jenna Ortega suggested that it was either her “dry sense of humor” or prominence in the horror genre.

Honestly, I don’t know if it was a dry sense of humor more so than I had a lot of horror projects coming out and I was coming up on the horror scene a little bit. 

Ultimately, Jenna Ortega’s casting proved to be beneficial as the Netflix series hit massive viewership records and earned praise from everywhere. The goth girl became a pop culture icon and Wednesday’s antics continued to raise several discussions among fans.

What did Tim Burton have to say about Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday?

Several reasons state why Tim Burton is one of the most talented and fan-favorite directors out there. His contribution to the gothic genre has been incredible. He is one of the primary reasons why Wednesday became such a massive hit.

The Batman (1989) director executively produced the Netflix show and directed four out of the eight episodes. His statement to BFI suggests that Jenna Ortega has “a special place” in his heart for her affiliation with the horror genre.

She’s one of the most aware, not only as an actress, but everything, around the camera, the set. She’s a very special talent. And she’s done a lot of horror movies, which I love too. That gave her a special place in my heart. ‘Oh, you’re doing another horror. Good’.

Further in the interview, Tim Burton also elaborated that he felt a special connection to Wednesday. However, he did not shy away from admitting that nobody other than Jenna Ortega could have given justice to the role- “But to me, it could not have been done without her.”

Besides being a part of the much-anticipated Season 2 of Wednesday, the X actress is set to appear in another collaboration with Tim Burton, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The sequel to the 1988 horror fantasy will bring back Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara alongside new cast members like Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, and Willem Dafoe.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is scheduled to be released on September 6, 2024, while Wednesday can be streamed on Netflix.