Jenna Ortega Thought She Hadn’t Done Well in Her ‘Wednesday’ Audition
Jenna Ortega admits that she had doubts about her performance when she auditioned for ‘Wednesday.’
Despite premiering in late November, Wednesday was one of the most streamed TV shows of 2022. Viewers have streamed the comedy-horror series for billions of minutes, and it remains one of Netflix’s most popular shows. Jenna Ortega has received no small amount of praise for her portrayal of the titular character, Wednesday Addams. Though the dark Addams daughter has been done brilliantly in the past, Ortega managed to put her own spin on the iconic character. But Ortega actually feels that she could’ve done a lot more with her character. In fact, she didn’t even think she did well in her initial audition.
Jenna Ortega felt she could’ve done a better job with the dance scene in ‘Wednesday’
Those who have been watching Ortega’s interviews will realize she sets very high standards for herself. For example, The Fallout star was none too pleased with the now memorable dance sequence that she choreographed for Wednesday. Despite its popularity and the fact that huge celebrities like Lady Gaga are emulating it, Ortega still feels that it wasn’t her best effort. This is especially true since the scene was filmed when she was sick with COVID.
The actor didn’t think she nailed her audition for the Netflix series
Another thing that Ortega didn’t think she nailed? Her audition for Wednesday. In order to try out for the role, the You alum had a meeting with Tim Burton over Zoom. Burton, of course, is an executive producer on the show and also directed the first four episodes. As a fan of the director, Ortega was excited to take the meeting. However, she was also fairly exhausted. At the time, she was in Costa Rica filming X, and her packed schedule meant that she was very sleep deprived during the audition.
“I hadn’t slept for over 24 hours,” Ortega shared with Who What Wear about her Wednesday audition. “I was literally dozing off before the call, so I remember thinking I had not done well.” Clearly, Ortega’s audition went better than she thought it did. After meeting with her, Burton was sure that she was right for the role.
How Tim Burton convinced Ortega to join the ‘Wednesday’ cast
Interestingly enough, it was Ortega who was initially hesitant about joining the Wednesday cast. After years of doing TV, she’d finally broken into the film world and didn’t want to be locked back into a multi-year contract. Though she’d been compared to Wednesday her whole life, she still wasn’t sure she wanted to commit to playing her. However, her admiration for Burton ultimately made her say yes to auditioning for the part. “Just hearing his passion for the project and what he had in mind visually to make the series was enough to get me interested,” Ortega shared.
We’re sure fans of the hit series are glad that Ortega signed on. We can’t wait to see what she’ll bring to Wednesday Season 2.