The shooting of “Wednesday” was more than a challenge for Jenna Ortega, we would rather speak of a real ordeal. The actress simply had no time to rest.
We know it now, Jenna Ortega had a lot to learn to hold the poster for Wednesday, the latest hit from Netflix. From fencing to German to canoeing and cello, the young actress spared no effort.
During a Q&A hosted by Netflix in Hollywood last Thursday, Jenna Ortega explained how intense the filming schedule was for her:
“I was arriving two hours early, doing a 12-14 hour day, going home, logging on to Zoom for a lesson. Or when I got back to my apartment, my cello teacher was already waiting for me. It was endless. And on the weekend, if we weren’t shooting on the sixth day of the week, it was: ‘Very well, then, we’ll do your lessons that day’“.
The actress said she started taking fencing and cello lessons a few months before filming, and continued during the eight months of filming in Romania. The cello sequence on the Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black” track was particularly difficult to master, as she had to change teachers when she left for Romania and learn to play a piece originally designed for two cellos.
I did not sleep. I tore my hair out. There are so many FaceTime calls that my dad answered while I was crying hysterically.
It must be said that Jenna Ortega put pressure on herself not to disappoint the cellists who would watch the series, despite all Tim Burton’s attempts to reassure her: “Oh, don’t worry, you’re gonna be awesome. It’s going to be awesome“, he told her.
Vlad Cioplea/Netflix © 2022
Use of a liner
The star wanted to film as many scenes as possible, but as filming for the series drew to a close, time constraints got in the way of her plans. “We started to run out of time because Wednesday is in almost every scene“I explained Jenna Ortega.
“They had to start using stuntmen or occasional cello doubles, but I was very adamant about being as prepared as possible because I wanted them to be able to use me, because that’s so much more believable if you can also film the face of the person playing.“
On January 6, the official announcement fell that the series has been renewed for a second season. Jenna Ortega said she has no idea what will happen in season 2, or when production will start, but she said the writing team is in the process of being put together.
As for what she wants to see in this season 2 of Wednesday, the actress says she would prefer her to focus less on love triangles, which “was a weird thing to justify“, and rather “focus on her and her experiences“.
