The severed but sentient hand known as “The Ice Cold Hand” (originally Thing T. Thing) may just be THE star of the new Netflix hit series “Wednesday” alongside Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams. Time and time again, the faithful companion helps the emotionally cold offspring of the creepy family out of trouble, remembers Wednesday’s birthday, and even helps her integrate more closely into the Nevermore Academy community. In short, the ice cold hand is the perfect “Wednesday” sidekick that viewers around the world have taken to their hearts.
But again and again during the series you inevitably wonder how those responsible behind the series brought this strange creature to life, after all, the helping hand does not look like it was created on the computer, but it seems to be a practical effect . The answer is amazingly simple: in “Wednesday,” the wayward hand was brought to life by an actor.
A magician and actor bring the hand to life
The Romanian actor and magician (!) Victor Dorobantu In the series, “embodies” the sweet grasping organ that can see, think and act independently. For filming, the magician had to slip into a form-fitting blue screen costume, which was removed from every scene during post-production.
Together with the film team, Dorobantu not only developed his own “language” for the talkative hand, but also gave the hand its own personality through quirks and special behavior. “Wednesday” actress Jenna Ortega recalls working with the acting magician:
“It was so funny because the language of the hand was just invented on set. Every day we’d show up and say, ‘Ahhh… that looks good. I feel like I know what he’s saying.’ Tim [Burton] wanted a real actor to play the ice cold hand like in 90’s movies so it ended up being this magician named Victor [Dorobantu]Ortega said .
“He wore a full blue suit and hid behind walls and under beds. Then they built this prosthesis on his hand to make it look like a wrist stud […] he spent hours every day doing hair and makeup just to put that hand on.
Insight into the shooting
Meanwhile, Netflix has also released several behind-the-scenes photos showing Victor Dorobantu in his skintight blue suit while filming “Wednesday”:
And the actor himself regularly shares photos from the shooting with his followers on his Instagram profile:
Also in the second season of “Wednesday”, there will definitely be a reunion with the sweet “Addams Family” relative. It hasn’t been ordered yet, but given the mega-success of the coming-of-age fantasy series, it should only be a matter of time before the red-N streaming giant orders another season of the series. Of course we will keep you informed about this.