Jenna Ortega has been an actress since the age of nine, despite starring in a Disney Channel series (Stuck In The Middle) and appearing in celebrity films such as Iron Man 3 and Insidious 2″ did not make her breakthrough until after her 20th birthday: ‘Wednesday’ grew into an absolute phenomenon in the fall and winter of 2022 and became the second most watched English-language Netflix series ever.
It seems hard to imagine that this would have been possible without Ortega, because ‘Wednesday’ lives too much from her grandiosely eccentric portrayal in the leading role. And even moments like Wednesday’s iconic prom dance probably wouldn’t have become such a hit, copied millions of times on social networks, without Ortega. But almost none of that happened, as Jenna Ortega initially turned down the role.
The actress revealed this in an interview with . In it she was asked if she had been interested in the well-known character Wednesday Addams before the series “Wednesday”. Ortega’s possibly rather surprising answer: “No, I didn’t. I have an email [zu dem Projekt] received and rejected.”
Too many series, too few movies
The reason for her initially negative attitude had nothing to do with the character, but with the project itself: “I had done so many series in my life, I just wanted to make movies. I was afraid that others would [Film-]Roles will slip through if I sign on for yet another TV series.
In addition to the series “In the Middle and No Escape” mentioned above, Ortega also appeared in “Jane The Virgin” (as a young version of the title character) and in the Netflix hit “You – You will love me”, as well as a voice actress when listening to the animated series Elena of Avalor and Jurassic World: New Adventures.
In the end, however, Ortega was convinced by the prospect, with a cult directorTim Burton to be able to work together, who directed four of the eight episodes of the first season “Wednesday” and served as producer for all eight episodes. “Tim is a true legend and we just got along really well. But even then I said a few times: ‘No thanks, that’s fine.’”
We can say: It’s a stroke of luck for everyone involved that Jenna Ortega has changed her mind – whether it’s for Netflix, for the public, or for Ortega herself…