Jenna Ortega Discusses Similarities Between Her And Wednesday Addams

Jenna Ortega seemingly was born to play Wednesday Addams.

The actor — who stars as the morbid titular character in Netflix’s hit spinoff series “Wednesday” based on the “Addams Family” 1960s TV show and 1990s movies — shared in an interview with People the similarities between her and the beloved character.

“People have been telling me I look like her since I was 6 years old,” the 20-year-old said. “And I have a pretty dark sense of humor!”

IOrtega admitted that, much like Wednesday, she’s no stranger to embracing the more cryptic side of life, including dissecting animals for fun when she was a kid.

“I’m a weirdo in the [sense that] I used to perform autopsies on little animals when I was younger, like little lizards that I found that were dead in my backyard,” she revealed.

Diving deeper into her eerie mindset in an interview with The Face, she detailed her excitement over “some really disturbing photos” online of herself smiling and “laying on the floor covered in blood” from her role in the horror film “Scream.”

“I love that stuff because it’s not real,” she admitted. “Knock on wood, I haven’t been stabbed yet, so for me it’s still a fun thing that I do at work, which is so awful to say. I love it when the blood comes out. I love shooting chase scenes ― they’re very fun for me.”

Last month, while appearing on “Still Watching Netflix,” one of the streaming service’s official YouTube channels, Ortega shared that she choreographed her captivating goth-inspired dance routine from episode four of the comedy horror series that went viral.

The nearly 3-minute moment toward the end of Episode 4 showcases Wednesday dominating her school’s dance floor during the Rave’N dance with a slew of electric ’80s-inspired dance moves.

Despite its popularity, the famed scene has been criticized by viewers after Ortega revealed in a November interview with NME that production allowed her to film the sequence while she had COVID-19.

She shared that filming continued while she awaited her test results after she’d woken up with symptoms of the virus.

“They were giving me medicine between takes because we were waiting on the positive result,” Ortega said.

MGM, the production company behind “Wednesday,” later said in an emailed statement to NME that “strict COVID protocols were followed, and once the positive test was confirmed, production removed Jenna from the set.”

Last month, Netflix announced that the “Addams Family” spinoff had broken the streamer’s record for the most hours viewed within a week of any English-language Netflix TV show ever, beating out the fourth season of “Stranger Things.”

‘Wednesday’ Star Jenna Ortega Reveals She Had Covid While Filming Viral Dance Scene

Wednesday has become a hit for Netflix and Jenna Ortega has been receiving a lot of praise for her interpretation of the titular character. As the stars of the show give behind-the-scene details about filming the series, Ortega revealed that she had Covid when she shot the viral dance scene.

“It’s crazy because it was my first day with Covid so it was awful to film,” Ortega said in an interview about shooting the memorable scene that she choreographed herself.

The Jane the Virgin alum further explained, “Yeah, I woke up and – it’s weird, I never get sick and when I do it’s not very bad – I had the body aches. I felt like I’d been hit by a car and that a little goblin had been let loose in my throat and was scratching the walls of my esophagus. They were giving me medicine between takes because we were waiting on the positive result.”

“Strict Covid protocols were followed” and the Wednesday star was removed from the set when the positive result came back. That was the reason that Ortega was unable to do a second take on the quirky dance which she said she “probably could have done it a bit better.”

Despite Ortega wanting a second shot of the scene, viewers have made the dance viral on social media emulating Wednesday’s dance moves. Videos parodying the scene have been popping up on TikTok furthering the momentum of the Netflix series.

“Wednesday” is now streaming on Netflix.