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Everything Jenna Ortega Learned In Order To Play Wednesday Addams
Actress Jenna Ortega had to prepare thoroughly to play the titular character in Netflix's Wednesday, as she had to learn a wide array of skills to properly become Wednesday Addams. On-screen, Ortega appeared to be as multi-talented as the title character she portrayed. However, many of these skills were learned in just a couple of months or even weeks, which could be difficult or even impossible for many to accomplish when the skills were as complex as learning a new language or learning an instrument from scratch.
Ortega had big shoes to fill, as audiences loved the version of Wednesday that Christina Ricci had previously portrayed in the two 1990s Addams Family movies. However, becoming competent in Wednesday's many talents herself gave her performance greater authenticity and helped set Ortega and the new version of Wednesday apart. It also means that Ortega has established herself as a very talented actress that goes the extra yard to pull off an exciting role.
Cello
Ortega learned how to play the cello to more authentically portray the multi-talented Wednesday. Her cello training began roughly two months before shooting began, and Ortega had no prior experience with the instrument. This made it all the more impressive that she was able to master the cello well enough to perform multiple songs throughout the series. Jenna Ortega played the cello beautifully on Wednesday, with the range of songs she played including The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" and Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop."
Fencing
Despite having a stunt double, Ortega needed to learn to fence in order to fulfill her role. She stated in a promotional interview for Netflix that she attended fencing lessons twice a week to learn the sport prior to filming. While her stunt double, Jenny Ayumi Umbhau, did end up doing many of the fencing scenes in her place, Ortega completed some of them herself, and even Umbhau praised her, stating that "[she] kicked some serious butt in the fencing choreography!"
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Archery & Canoeing
While not much has been said about Ortega's training in archery or canoeing, she did learn the skills just for Wednesday, according to The New York Times. Not only did Ortega not blink while filming Wednesday, but she was also able to perform all these new skills impressively on screen. Even though a lot was expected from Ortega during filming, she seemed to have gone the extra mile in her commitment.
Dancing
The viral dance that Wednesday performed in Wednesday episode four, "Woe What a Night," was actually choreographed by Ortega herself. While that was impressive enough, especially given the immediate popularity of the scene across social media, it was even more remarkable because Ortega had no dancing or choreographing background. Dancing and choreography are two very different (and complicated) skills, so for Ortega to pull off such an iconic scene with no background in either spoke to her wide breadth of talent.
Ortega only had roughly one week to choreograph and rehearse the classic scene. The inspiration for Ortega's Wednesday dance came from dance moves popular among 1980s Goth bands and in Goth clubs, as she told The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Given she had no prior experience, she revealed that she felt very insecure while filming the sequence. However, Ortega clearly had nothing to worry about as the dance resonated with audiences around the world.
