Jenny Ortega is living her dream with the title role in the Netflix hit Wednesdaybut she revealed that she almost turned down the role.
Tim Burton’s supernatural horror-comedy telling the story of the coming-of-age rhythm of young Wednesday Addams stranger things for the most streamer hours watched in its first week on Netflix, where it became the second most-watched English-language show in the platform’s history.
In her title role, Ortega quickly became a global star, most notably for her dance scene in the fourth episode, which became a craze on TikTok, with her fans around the world creating their own versions.
Now Ortega – who enjoyed a separate triumph with his comedic turn over the weekend Saturday Night Live – revealed that she was initially not interested in the role.
She tolerated the UK Time:
“No, I didn’t. I received the email, I forwarded it. I’ve done so much TV in my life that all I ever wanted to do was film.
“I was afraid that by signing up for another TV show, it might prevent me from doing other jobs that I really wanted and cared about.”
And Ortega revealed it was only the lure of director and executive producer Tim Burton that persuaded her to think again.
“Tim is such a legend, and we get on really well. But even then I was like, ‘Ah, no – I think I’m fine,’ a couple [more] time.”
Ortega started acting professionally at the age of nine and was previously a child star on the Disney Channel, with a starring role in Stuck in the middle.
More recently, his appearances in chillers like Insidious: Chapter 2, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, American Carnage and the second season of Netflix’s serial killer series You.
These roles, as well as his current outing in Cry VIhave led to some depictions of Ortega as the screen’s current “screaming queen”.
She told the Time:
“For some reason people see my face and want to throw blood on it… I don’t know what it is. A horror director once told me that my eyes looked like they could be very innocent. It was never intentional, but it’s really fun.