At such a tender age, Jenna Ortega has already established herself as a leading lady with her jaw-dropping performance as the eponymous Wednesday in the up-to-date Addams Family spin-off on Netflix.
The coming-of-age supernatural horror dramedy has hit all the right notes with its audience, who have instantly fallen in love with the Tim Burton-driven vehicle – of which he directs the opening four episodes.
The supremely talented Ortega fuels the morbid magnetism that Wednesday exudes in buckets of blood during the infamous prom scene, the last directed by Burton). Indeed, her almost impromptu dance was her own.
When asked by the playfully gothic auteur to develop a piece of choreography, the Coachella-born Ortega constructed what has turned out to be an iconic routine that may well be the stand-out scene from the first series, which is saying something.
Along a similar vein of gruesome gigs, the Scream actor will reprise her role as Tara Carpenter in the sixth installment of the slasher franchise alongside mainstays Courtney Cox and Roger L. Jackson (the voice of Ghostface).
STRIPLV: What is it about you and the macabre? Wednesday and Scream? ORTEGA: (Laughs) What can I say? I'm a huge fan of horror movies. They're so invigorating, and there's a certain therapy I get from them. Is it weird to say that? It's like a big emotional blowout and it kind of re-centers me. I think I also like the fact the film sets are such lively places. Everyone is up for the thrill and the challenge - you're around people who have the same passion for horror and thrills, jump-scares, and the adrenaline rush that comes from it. You can't wait to go to work every day. Everyone on that set was great, and I really consider them my family and friends. We reacted in the same way to many things, especially not being able to do one take for anything because we were just laughing so much. How can you take things seriously when you're all full of excitement and even if there's a really important part about to happen, and one of us looks at the other and thinks the same thing? 'Are we laughing inside?' Yeah. And it all comes out. You just can't help it! STRIPLV: As for Wednesday, that's been so well-received by audiences. It's been streamed so much that it's only the third show in Netflix history watched over a billion times. That's got to feel pretty amazing, right? ORTEGA: It's so hard to get my head around that. That's got to be a lot of people who have watched it more than once! (Laughs) I guess there are a lot of different influences that have gone into Wednesday, so it attracts viewers coming at it from different angles. And by that, I mean you have a dark side, a teenage coming-of-age side, the comedy, the silliness, the blood, the fact that people who are old enough to have watched previous incarnations of The Addams Family will check it out. I think because of all of that. It ends up hitting on many different levels. I enjoy playing the role so much, and after speaking with Tim Burton right from the beginning, we established the way I was going to play it together. That dead-pan face took a bit of work, but I finally perfected it. STRIPLV: Yeah, it's so amazing how you never seem to blink during your on-screen parts ORTEGA: (Laughs) That's the magic of television, my friend! No, I did want to try to get that distinctive look going on, something that would be memorable for what we wanted this version of Wednesday Addams to be like. The lack of blinking when I'm on camera was something else I worked on, but it's difficult, and it's difficult to get a line out when your eyes are screaming at you. When I did give in to the pain and blink, it really annoyed me. I would stop and want to do another take. I had an idea that when it was the turn of another actor to speak, I would blink then. STRIPLV: We have to talk about that dance! It's so amazing. ORTEGA: Thank you. Yeah, that was another thing that I spoke to Tim about, and I said that I didn't want to have a choreographer for it. I wanted it to be something I could come up with on my own. The only problem was that I had almost zero experience of dancing in my life, but I sat down and had a think about how I was going to do it, what would be realistic for how Wednesday would do it, etcetera. They chose the song I would be dancing to, and I was amazed by the coincidence it would be by one of my favorite bands, The Cramps. The song would be Goo Goo Muck, so at least I knew that it was going to be one I liked. I was Googling all kinds of goth bands like Siouxsie and The Banshees, and I came across some footage of these kids in clubs in the 1980s, and I thought, 'I've got to use this.' So, yeah, that's where the influence came from and what led to what was finally used. STRIPLV: At just 20, you seem to have a presence and confidence that is impressive yet endearing. ORTEGA: I don't think I've been in the industry long enough to really be fearful of it. I feel like with every new project, there is this incredible world opening up, and obviously, I am grateful and extremely lucky. I've not really experienced a downside yet. I'm just taking each new experience as it comes. STRIPLV: Your sense of fairness and equality has seen you head up or contribute to many charitable and philanthropic initiatives. ORTEGA: I just feel we are in an era of tension and confusion where equality and justice is concerned. There is so much going on, so many agendas, and so much bias that it can be difficult to read into the whole thing at times. When I try to lend my influence to something, it must be on a very personal, local level. I don't want to get involved in the big politics. My parents are from Mexico and Puerto Rico, so they understand the idea of focusing on themselves and building their own lives, as they did in America, rather than looking at big change. In the same way, I like to embrace projects on a level where you can see real change in people or communities. Everything above that is just a bit too vague for me. STRIPLV: You're also a big advocate of looking after yourself, as well as others. ORTEGA: There's no point looking after others if you haven't first looked after yourself. I think diet is so vitally important, as well as the things you expose your skin to. On a physical level, I am always trying to keep myself happy, healthy, and alert. For me, that can provide me with a boost to my mental health when something comes along that I need to confront. It's like a headstart to life's challenges for me.
WEDNESDAY ADDAMS' BEST QUOTES FROM THE FIRST SEASON OF THE NETFLIX SERIES
ONE "Drip is for people who hate themselves and know their lives have no real purpose or meaning."
TWO "Believe nothing you hear and half of what you see."
THREE "When I look at you, the following emojis come to mind. Rope. Shovel. Hole."
FOUR "I see the world as a place that must be endured, and my personal philosophy is kill or be killed."
FIVE "I act as if I don't care if people dislike me. Deep down, I secretly enjoy it."
SIX "I like being an island. A well-fortified one surrounded by sharks."
SEVEN "Secrets are like zombies; they never truly die."
EIGHT "There are monsters everywhere, and sometimes the monsters we least suspect are the most dangerous. They don't need teeth and claws to terrify. They hide in the shadows until no one is looking, and then they strike."
NINE "Whoever invented high heels clearly has a side hustle as a torturer."