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Sometimes it is the smallest details that help make a character feel unique. For example, you will never see Jenna Ortega blink when she is Wednesday Addams. That cold, indifferent stare is a core part of the character that makes her seem inhuman in a way you can’t quite put your finger on, but sticks with you. Turns out, there is a really simple trick she used to achieve that effect while filming Wednesday season two for Netflix.

Blinking is something most people do without thinking, so the fact that Jenna Ortega managed to stifle that instinct while holding character is actually pretty remarkable. While promoting Wednesday season two with director Tim Burton, Ortega was asked how she manages to avoid blinking on camera.

“You [blink] on everybody else’s line,” she explained, which is a remarkably simple answer, though it does mean that her co-stars had to deal with her getting all her blinks out while they’re trying to deliver their own lines. It also doesn’t explain how she keeps her eyes from drying out.

“Your eye does start twitching,” she admitted. “There were a couple setups in season one that looked like I was crying because I was trying to keep my eyes open.”

Is the discomfort worth it? Wednesday season one is still among the most watched shows on Netflix, with season two on the way in August and September, and season three already in the works, so clearly Jenna Ortega has found something that works for her and the show.

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