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Jenna Ortega auditioned for a Wednesday Addams animated movie in 2016 - and didn't get the part
Ortega would go on to embody the role so completely that it is hard to see anyone else in the Netflix series now.
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Sometimes, an actor seems like the perfect casting choice for a character, to the point where it almost feels absurd that there was anyone else considered for the role. Jenna Ortega has embodied the character of Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series so completely that it is hard to believe that she was actually passed up for the same role several years earlier in an animated movie.
“She’s a character that’s all about being subtle,” director Tim Burton explained in a recent interview to promote the upcoming second season of Wednesday on Netflix. “Because she doesn’t really have a huge range of emotions.”
“She’s also one of the few protagonists who is able to get away with that, aside from villains – who tend not to have emotional growth or depth,” Jenna Ortega added before revealing that this wasn’t the first time she’s auditioned to play Wednesday Addams. “I actually did an audition for [a Wednesday animated movie] when I was 14, and I didn’t get it. I remember telling my mom, ‘That would be cool to be her, though.’”
The irony shouldn’t be lost on anyone, as Jenna Ortega has managed to embody the role of Wednesday in the Netflix series so far. In fact, it has pushed her into realms of popularity Ortega never saw for herself. With season two on the way later in 2025, we’re excited to see what else the deliciously dark teenager has in store for us.
Wednesday season two lands on Netflix in two batches, with part one releasing on August 6, 2025 and part two out on September 3, 2025.
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