Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) joined a group of her fellow actors for a roundtable interview and cover photo shoot for The Hollywood Reporter. Joining Ortega were Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), Elle Fanning (The Great), Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs), Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face), and Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary).
During the roundtable, the subject came up about Ortega rewriting some of her dialogue in Wednesday scripts if she felt it wasn’t something her character would say. It wasn’t even THR who brought up Ortega’s comments. It was Edebiri who said she was “impressed” that Ortega stood up for herself like that. Then, it was Lyonne who asked Ortega more about her experience.
“I’ve had experiences in TV where I felt my voice wasn’t heard, that I was meant to be a puppet,” Ortega said. “I’ve been told on sets, ‘You wouldn’t know because you’re not a writer,’ or, ‘Just shut up and do your job.’ From 12 years old, I’ve been hearing things like that. So, I went into Wednesday with hesitance.”
Ortega added that she feels “really fortunate” that she will be a producer for the second season of Wednesday and felt the same way during the first season because of the collaborative relationship she had with director Tim Burton.
“I think a project is best when there’s as many voices and ideas thrown out as possible,” she said. “I was fortunate to be working with someone like Tim Burton, who pulled me in his trailer one day and said that he wanted to be a soundboard for my voice.”
Now, Ortega is at a point in her career where she’s not interested in playing the role of a “people pleaser in this industry.” She wants to voice her opinion when it matters to her.
“I know how unhappy or how frustrating it’s been in the past,” she said. “As [Wednesday] went on, we all got a better feel for one another and it’s become a really collaborative experience. I feel really lucky to be able to be in the room early next season and be talking about scripts and giving notes.”
Watch the full roundtable, that includes Jenna Ortega, below.
