Jenna Ortega made an unconventional impression when she auditioned for her role on Wednesday, appearing in her “death” makeup from the movie X.
While showing up for an audition covered in blood and cuts may not get many people a job, it certainly didn’t hurt Jenna Ortega when she landed the title role Wednesday. The actress recently spoke about her Zoom audition with Tim Burton, for which she showed up in the movie right after filming her death scene. X. Fortunately, the unconventional look caused the actress no more than a little embarrassment, and it certainly seemed to amuse Burton.
In an interview with WiredOrtega revealed that due to the filming of the movie X on the same day she auditioned for Burton, she had no time to change in between and looked extremely run down. She said:
“When I met Tim Burton for my audition on Wednesday, I had just finished [my death scene in X] so I had stage blood and glycerin sweat in my hair and a huge cut on my face, and had been awake for over 24 hours. I got on the Zoom and he actually laughed. It made me laugh. I thought it was endearing.”
Jenna Ortega has rocketed her way up Hollywood’s hot list, starting on Disney Channel’s Stuck in the middle and appear in Netflix’s you2021 The dropoutand horror movies X and scream this year. Now taking on the iconic role of Wednesday Addams, Ortega is about to reach a whole new audience as the badass Addams Family icon.
How’s Tim Burton? Wednesday Matches previous Addams family Projects?
When developing a new version of a beloved character, there will always be comparisons between the new and the old iterations. Wednesday’s previous iteration, Christina Ricci’s appearance in The Addams family and Addam’s family values, gave Burton and Ortega a mountain to climb. However, it appears they have done just that, with early responses to it Wednesday be mostly positive.
While she had big boots to fill, Ortega received most of the praise as a titular character. The show itself may still win over some people, but overall it looks like next week’s release is going to be another big hit for Netflix. Hopefully it won’t be the only time we’ll see Ortega in the role, as she’s brought to life a new version of Wednesday that can no doubt carry the series forward.
Having to perform alongside original star Christina Ricci on the series has made Ortega’s time as a Wednesday stressful. Ricci joined the cast as Mrs. Thornhill, one of Nevermore Academy’s teachers, and Ortega previously revealed how nerve-wracking it was to perform alongside Ricci. She said:
“I felt like I was really having a panic attack when I was told. I was terrified. She’s a really cool lady. I was fine with meeting her, but the first time we did a scene together and she had to see me made up the way she had been made up 30 years ago was nerve wracking.
Wednesday premieres on Netflix on November 23.