Jenna Ortega’s ‘Wednesday’ Script Changes Stir Up Debate

Meaghan Darwish March 7, 2023, 5:11 pm

Jenna Ortega in 'Wednesday' Season 1 — Vlad Cioplea/Netflix

Jenna Ortega is getting candid about her experience of filming Netflix‘s megahit series Wednesday in a recent episode of Dax Shepard‘s Armchair Expert podcast.

The actress sat down to discuss her career and the industry, and some comments surprised viewers as she revealed script changes that were made while filming the show’s first season. According to the actress who stars in the Addams Family-inspired title produced by Tim Burton, she was borderline “unprofessional” in her effort to maintain her character’s authenticity in the dialogue.

“Everything that she does, everything that I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all,” Ortega noted, indicating the reason for her tweaks to the script. “Her being in a love triangle made no sense. There was a line about like, this dress that she has to wear for a school dance, and she said, ‘Oh, my God, I love it. Ugh, I can’t believe I said that. I literally hate myself.’ And I had to go, ‘No, there’s no way.'”

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As the filming continued, Ortega added, “There was times on that set where I even became almost unprofessional, in a sense, where I just started changing lines. The script supervisor thought that I was going with something, and then I would have to sit down with the writers, and they would be like, ‘Wait, what happened to the scene?’ And I would to have to go through and explain why I couldn’t do certain things.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had to put my foot down on a set in the way that I had to on Wednesday because it’s so easy to fall into that category, especially with this type of show,” Ortega pointed out. Wednesday debuted in November 2022, quickly becoming one of Netflix’s most-streamed series.

She further revealed that it was her idea to put Wednesday’s solo dance together as she said, “Initially, it was supposed to be a flash mob, and she was supposed to start dancing, and everyone was supposed to pick up on it and start dancing with her. And that, I vetoed because why would she be OK with that? I said, ‘Either cut it or have Wednesday knock someone out and then it’s done.'”

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Ultimately, Ortega acknowledged, “Now a lot of people know me from that. It’s not my proudest moment internally, which, I think, also adds an extra level of insecurity and stress.” She also expressed concerns about how the role will define her career opportunities moving forward, “Because it’s like, no, I’m finally getting these offers to these places that I want, but I don’t want to be known specifically for that.”

Since Ortega’s podcast appearance, her comments have sparked debate among fans and writers. While some defend her actions, others are a bit more critical as illustrated in the tweets, below.

I love talking with actors about their lines/stories. But by the nature of the beast, they don’t have the full picture (in TV) of where the story is going and why some lines are needed for the whole to make sense. https://t.co/jewHLX4bKk

— Steven DeKnight (@stevendeknight) March 7, 2023

Idk Jenna Ortega clearly seems like a passionate actress who cared deeply enough about her character to have a convo about her script. Simple as that… That’s what we look for in talent !

— afilmbyanji 🇧🇩🇮🇳 (@anjiniazhar) March 7, 2023

it’s honestly sad to see that jenna couldn’t have a lot of creativity on this project because she’s RIGHT about everything.. get her on that writers room pic.twitter.com/4965kIvcTx

— mari (@marisgorge) March 6, 2023

im glad shes so passionate about her character though, and she’s right to be so overprotective over Wednesday because at the end of the day, it’s *her* character https://t.co/g6LtL2qaXy

— anya taylor-joy’s publicist (@finaIgirl_) March 6, 2023

Listen to the full conversation in the podcast episode below, and let us know your thoughts on Ortega’s revealing remarks in the comments section below.