There were two Wednesdays on the set of Wednesday, but neither of them ever brought that fact up to the other. Netflix recently debuted Wednesdaya Addams family reboot that reimagines the titular member of the creepy and kooky family Jenna Ortega in the role. During production, Thora Birch unexpectedly passed out and opened the front door Christina Ricki be used to replace it. This was significant because a former child star, Ricci was famous as a youngster Wednesday in two of the live-action movies of the 1990s.
In a new interview with MTV News, Ortega spoke about her Netflix series with co-star Emma Myers. She revealed that even with Ricci on set, the two never talked about playing the same character. As Ortega explains, she believes Ricci didn’t want to influence her performance, and from her own point of view, Ortega thought it best to focus on her own portrayal to avoid making her Wednesday feel like a carbon copy of Ricci’s.
“I think when she was on set neither of us said Wednesday to each other twice. I think because she knew she shouldn’t say anything to me…I don’t think she wanted to get in the way of my performance and feeling like she was being overbearing And I felt like I didn’t want to pull off something that she did 30 years ago First, for my own benefit’s sake, but two, yeah, I didn’t want to rip her off, and I didn’t want to too much like her. I think our show has superpowers, and outcasts, and evil ghost pilgrims. They’re two very different people, our Wednesdays, I think.”
Watch the full interview below.
Christina Ricci: former Wednesday actress, current Wednesday series star
In the series, Ortega brings to life a reimagined version of Wednesday Addams as she attends Nevermore Academy after moving out of the family home. Ricci plays Mrs. Thornhill, the botany teacher at Nevermore Academy. Other cast members include Gwendoline Christie, Riki Lindhome, Percy Hynes White, Jamie McShane, Hunter Doohan and Emma Myers. Also starring as the Addams Family members, who resurface in Season 2 when Netflix revamps the show, are Luis Guzman as Gomez, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, and Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley.
“The series is really about a girl who sees the world in black and white and learns there are shades of gray,” co-creator and co-showrunner Al Gough recently said of where season 2 could go, via TVLine. “I think like any relationship or any friendship, it can be complicated by other factors. It’s never going to be smooth sailing. And it’s really teaching her to navigate the ups and downs of friendship.”
Wednesday now streaming on Netflix.