Playing Wednesday Comes With Unexpected Side Effects, Says Jenna Ortega
Despite making several negative comments about her time filming Wednesday, Jenna Ortega can’t be accused of failing to fully embrace her role as the daughter of Gomez and Morticia Addams.
Throughout filming, she was at loggerheads with the writers over what the titular character in the Netflix hit should say and how she should act.
And there was an unexpected side effect of her getting so well into character.
While working on the show, Ortega says she “suddenly only ever wore black”.
Not that black wasn’t already a staple of her wardrobe, however. But if you look back at pictures of her before filming began on Wednesday, you’ll see that she frequently sported some more colourful outfits.
Even when she did opt for black in her pre-Wednesday days, there was often a splash of colour or some contrasting white to complement it.
But it wasn’t a conscious decision to ditch those other outfits. It just happened. The show was a sensation in late 2022, with more than 150 million households streaming it on Netflix.
Telling the story of a sullen, moody teenage daughter with a flair for gothic chic, it seems only right and proper that the character was pretty much clad all in black throughout the show.
And it’s not unusual for method actors to stay in character all day while filming – even between scenes.
But for a character’s sense of style to infiltrate that of the actor so fully is not something that’s widely recognised as typical in the realm of film and TV.
In fact, Ortega has said that there are other characters she has played who have dressed in ways that she didn't think were a "good representation" of her in real life.
So, regardless of how those outfits looked or fitted, she never made them part of her own wardrobe.
But it seems that playing Wednesday Addams really got under her skin in a way she didn't expect - and didn't even notice at first.
Of course, it helps that Wednesday dresses in outfits that fall in line with modern fashion.
After all, she’d have looked a bit odd walking around dressed as Princess Buttercup while off-set.
But in many ways, this wardrobe change is a testament to how seriously the up-and-coming star takes her acting and perhaps demonstrates why at the tender age of 20, she already has an impressive back catalogue of screen roles.