Jenna Ortega drew criticism in March when she went on the “Armchair Expert” podcast and described how she rewrote some of her lines in “Wednesday” because she didn’t think they were appropriate for the character.
In a roundtable interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 20-year-old actor now seems to be defending her behavior.
According to Ortega, she has played roles in the past where she felt her input was ignored on the set.
“I’ve had experiences in TV where I felt my voice wasn’t heard, that I was meant to be a puppet,” she said. “I’ve been told on sets, ‘You wouldn’t know because you’re not a writer,’ or, ‘Just shut up and do your job.’ From 12 years old, I’ve been hearing things like that. So, I went into ‘Wednesday’ with hesitance.”
The “X” and “You” actor continued by stating that she was adamant about making sure her voice was “heard” since she didn’t want to simply be a “people-pleaser” while filming the Netflix series.
Ortega asserted: “I think that because I’m someone who is very opinionated or because I know what it’s like to be a people pleaser in this industry, and I know how unhappy or how frustrating it’s been in the past when I went into ‘Wednesday’ I really put my foot down and made it clear that everything that I had to say mattered and was heard.”
The actor also expressed her gratitude for having the opportunity to work with “Wednesday” director and producer Tim Burton, describing how he sought to work closely with her on the role.
“But I was fortunate to be working with someone like Tim Burton, who pulled me in his trailer one day and said that he wanted to be a soundboard for my voice,” she continued. “So, every day, me, him, the writers, we’d get together in the morning and go through sides.”
The actress stated that she finally enjoyed working with the authors and considers herself fortunate to be working with them again on “Wednesday” season two. Ortega will also serve as a producer this time.
“And as the show went on, we all got a better feel for one another and it’s become a really collaborative experience, and I feel really lucky to be able to be in the room early next season and be talking about scripts and giving notes,” she said.
The 20-year-old actor has experienced some success in her own right since assuming the lead role in Netflix’s comedy-horror adaptation of Charles Addams’ well-known cartoon character.
While Ortega said that she is not shocked by the series’ positive reaction among younger generations, she wasn’t prepared for it to also be popular with older audiences.
“Wednesday has a much wider audience than I anticipated, at least agewise,” she said during a recent Hollywood Reporter round-table with fellow actors Elle Fanning, Ayo Adebiri, Devery Jacobs, Natasha Lyonne, and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
“So it’s older people and younger people [who recognize me],” Ortega added. “But I’ve had a couple of weird plane stories, too, where I’ve woken up to notes or things like that.”
The former Disney star continued by talking about her most recent encounter with a fan after getting off a plane.
Ortega recalled, “I got off one yesterday, and at the end, the flight attendant took her hair out of the bun and it was in two braids, and she took her bangs down and she said, ‘You made me do this,'”
Funny encounter there, Jenna. Did you ever get into the Wednesday craze? Go ahead and comment on them down below. Please sign-up for our newsletter to stay in the loop whenever we post new content. Bye!
