FULL OF WOE

JENNA ORTEGA IS THE LATEST ACTOR TO DON WEDNESDAY’S PIGTAILS

What attracted you to this role?

Honestly, a big part of the reason why I did the show is because Wednesday is a Latina character, and that’s never been represented. Anytime I have an opportunity to represent my community or give other girls that look like me some relatability or connection on screen, I think that’s really important. So that’s why I did this job, because I want that to be seen. Plus, I love Wednesday.

How did you arrive at Wednesday’s look?

The team wanted to do something different for Wednesday, so they gave me a fringe when we were doing testing. Tim Burton would say, “Oh, that’s too thick” or “That’s too thin” or “It doesn’t look natural enough”. He got the hairdresser’s comb and put my fringe in the exact placement that he wanted, and then had them spray it. For the rest of the week, my hair was in that exact position. That was a little stressful!

Was it easy to get into Wednesday’s mindset?

She’s somebody I’ve been compared to my entire life – I think because I tend to be very dry and monotone. My interpretation of Wednesday is that she’s a bit more socially awkward. Typically, she’s always the smartest in the room, and that’s her constant goal. She’s always a few steps ahead of anyone.

Does placing the spotlight on Wednesday change the character?

We’ve never seen her as a teenager before. Her snarky, snide remarks might not necessarily sound as charming when they’re coming from somebody who should probably know better than a 10-year-old girl. That was a balancing act. We didn’t want to make her sound like every other teenage girl, but we also didn’t want to make her too ignorant.