Jenna Ortega had a lot to learn in order to play “Wednesday” in the successful Netflix series of the same name, including fencing, German, canoeing, and cello.

 

Jenna Ortega’s filming experience on Wednesday’s season 1 production has been a roller coaster, from from studying cello and fencing to contracting COVID. Jenna recently talked out about her demanding Wednesday schedule, which had her weeping ‘hysterically’ many times.

Jenna Ortega burst into tears while shooting Wednesday

Jenna Ortega revealed in a Variety Q&A that she used to remain on set for 12 – 14 hours a day before coming home to take whatever courses she had on Zoom. When Ortega returned to her apartment after a day of filming, her cello teacher was already there, eager to begin lessons.

Jenna Ortega struggled with the Paint It Black cello passage since she switched tutors due to travelling overseas for filming, and the piece was supposed to be performed in two cellos, but she only had one.

Jenna Ortega went on to say that she didn’t get much sleep and ripped her hair out due to her hectic filming schedule, classes, and other production duties. She FaceTimed her father many times while weeping uncontrollably.

However, Tim Burton, the director and producer of Wednesday, was always confident in her and encouraged her during the shoot.

The Netflix series, directed by Tim Burton, follows the eponymous Wednesday through her years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Season 1 of Wednesday consists of eight episodes and follows the eponymous Addams as she strives to manage her burgeoning psychic gift, halt a terrible killing spree ravaging the neighbouring community of Jericho, and solve a 25-year-old mystery.

Wednesday debuted on Netflix in November 2022 to generally good reviews, with the majority of fans and reviewers applauding Ortega’s performance. With nearly 6 billion minutes seen in its first week on Netflix, the series became the second-biggest debut in Netflix history, following only Season 4 of Stranger Things, which received 7.2 billion minutes in the same time period.

Wednesday, which was initially announced in October 2020, is a spinoff of The Addams Family, which was founded in 1938 as a single-panel comic by American artist Charles Addams.