Wednesday star Jenna Ortega: I love things that are disturbing”

Jenna wears top TRUSSARDI, trousers JW ANDERSON and shoes stylist’s own

Jenna Ortega is the star of Wednesday, Netflix’s Addams Family reboot. Olivia Rodrigo is… well, you know who she is. The old Disney pals chat about fame, Tim Burton doing plaits and being asked for autographs while peeing. Individually they’re scarily talented. Together? So cool it’s frightening.

It’s been one hell of a year for Jenna Ortega, the wide-eyed star of 2022’s most ubiquitous film genre: horror.

In January, she played Tara Carpenter in the fright-night franchise reboot of Scream. Two months later the Californian – who turned 20 in September – gave us thrills n’ chills as wannabe porn star Lorraine Day in Ti West’s sexy slasher flick X (a film so buzzed up it immediately spawned a prequel, Pearl).

And her breakout isn’t over yet. Ortega is the titular schoolgoth heroine of Tim Burton’s Addams Family spin-off series for Netflix, Wednesday. With the Untitled Sixth Scream Film” in post-production, it all serves to prove one thing: before she’d even exited her teens, Ortega was fast becoming Hollywood’s Most Wanted.

To be fair, the Coachella Valley-born actor, whose parents are of Mexican and Puerto Rican ancestry, has been working half her life. One of her first (and, looking back, most prescient) roles was as an adolescent in 2013 supernatural thriller Insidious: Chapter 2. But she landed her big break in Jane the Virgin, which she began filming when she was 11, playing the younger version of the titular character. Then she was front and centre on 57 episodes of Disney Channel family comedy Stuck in the Middle (2016 – 18).

Since then, Ortega has crammed in plenty of film and TV roles. But with Wednesday she is, finally – already – the lead actor she was destined to be.

In this new-gen version of the classic and darkly funny series about a macabre yet loving family of ghouls, she picks up the baton from Christina Ricci. The October 1998 FACE cover star, most recently seen in Yellowjackets, made the role her own in the 1991 and 1993 movie iterations of the 1960s TV show, which was derived from Charles Addams’s 1930s cartoons.

As Ortega prepares to take her career to scarily accomplished heights with deadpan poise and startlingly perfect plaits (more on that later), we tapped one of her old pals to ask her all about it: Olivia Rodrigo.

Ortega and the biggest teen music star of the last few years first met on the set of Disney Channel comedy series Bizaardvark when they were 16 and 15, respectively. Their paths re-converged this past June at the MTV Movie & TV Awards, with the internet going into meltdown when Ortega presented Rodrigo with the Best Music Documentary prize for Driving Home 2 U (A Sour Film). As they warmly embraced on stage to the sound of Rodrigo’s angsty anthem good 4 u, they gave us a charming peek at their offscreen friendship.

Now that Ortega is on the cusp of Gen Z superstardom and all the glory that comes with it, who could possibly relate better than the 19-year-old fellow Mouse House grad? So we brought them together for an exclusive chat. Although, to be honest, we had no choice – Jenna said she’d feed us to her piranhas if we didn’t deliver… [Please will you untie us now? – Trembling Ed].

In this new-gen version of the classic and darkly funny series about a macabre yet loving family of ghouls, she picks up the baton from Christina Ricci. The October 1998 FACE cover star, most recently seen in Yellowjackets, made the role her own in the 1991 and 1993 movie iterations of the 1960s TV show, which was derived from Charles Addams’s 1930s cartoons.

As Ortega prepares to take her career to scarily accomplished heights with deadpan poise and startlingly perfect plaits (more on that later), we tapped one of her old pals to ask her all about it: Olivia Rodrigo.

Ortega and the biggest teen music star of the last few years first met on the set of Disney Channel comedy series Bizaardvark when they were 16 and 15, respectively. Their paths re-converged this past June at the MTV Movie & TV Awards, with the internet going into meltdown when Ortega presented Rodrigo with the Best Music Documentary prize for Driving Home 2 U (A Sour Film). As they warmly embraced on stage to the sound of Rodrigo’s angsty anthem good 4 u, they gave us a charming peek at their offscreen friendship.

Now that Ortega is on the cusp of Gen Z superstardom and all the glory that comes with it, who could possibly relate better than the 19-year-old fellow Mouse House grad? So we brought them together for an exclusive chat. Although, to be honest, we had no choice – Jenna said she’d feed us to her piranhas if we didn’t deliver… [Please will you untie us now? – Trembling Ed].

Jenna wears shirt GUCCI

Hi Jenna!

Hi Olivia! How are you?

I miss you. I’m good. How are you? Where are you right now?

I just got back to LA. I haven’t been here in a couple of months. It’s very nice.

I saw you were in Paris. Where were you before?

I was in Atlanta for two months.

Oh my God. Wow. Busy, busy girl!

Yeah. What about you? Are you touring right now still?

No. I got off tour. I’m just hanging out and writing. I’m in New York right now.

I wish I’d known you were in New York. I was just there for a week.

I just got here, so it’s OK. We would have missed each other. Happy you’re home! Are you with your family?

Nope. I’m just going around LA, doing things I should have done a while ago, catching up on stuff. I leave again pretty soon.

Jenna Ortega's favourite place is a beach in New Zealand – "It's a black sand beach... I went there with a friend but there was a cow that had fallen and it was immortalised in the sand. Beautiful"

DID YOU KNOW?

Jenna Ortega's favourite place is a beach in New Zealand – "It's a black sand beach... I went there with a friend but there was a cow that had fallen and it was immortalised in the sand. Beautiful"

DID YOU KNOW?

Hi Jenna!

Hi Olivia! How are you?

I miss you. I’m good. How are you? Where are you right now?

I just got back to LA. I haven’t been here in a couple of months. It’s very nice.

I saw you were in Paris. Where were you before?

I was in Atlanta for two months.

Oh my God. Wow. Busy, busy girl!

Yeah. What about you? Are you touring right now still?

No. I got off tour. I’m just hanging out and writing. I’m in New York right now.

I wish I’d known you were in New York. I was just there for a week.

I just got here, so it’s OK. We would have missed each other. Happy you’re home! Are you with your family?

Nope. I’m just going around LA, doing things I should have done a while ago, catching up on stuff. I leave again pretty soon.

Jenna wears dress LOUIS VUITTON and socks and shoes talent’s own

When was the last time I saw you? Maybe at the VMAs?

Ooh, yes it was.

That was sweet. I was surprised to see you and so happy you were there.

I was so excited. They told me five minutes before I went on that I’d be giving you an award.

Aw! So sweet. I had no idea you were presenting it. It was the happiest surprise. OK, let me put my interviewer hat on.

Thank you for having me!

Of course. You’ve had the craziest, biggest year ever. As someone who has witnessed your hard work, dedication, integrity and talent, I just think that no one is more deserving and I’m very happy for you. How has it been? How are you feeling? Has this year been exhausting, exciting, all of the above?

Thank you for all of the kind words. This year has been really exciting. I’ve known you for how many years now? Definitely closer to the start of my acting career. I’ve been acting for 10 years, half of my life. Almost over half of my life. A lot went into it – my parents sacrificed a lot. I sacrificed a lot. It was a group effort. Now that I’m here, especially this year, I feel that I’m just now starting to see scripts that I’m interested in doing and projects that creatively fulfil me. As an actor, that’s all you’re chasing and that’s all you could want. I would say I’m pretty tired, but when I’m not working I lose my mind.

Yeah.

I just got here in LA and I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m kicking rocks in the corner.

Ha!

It’s an awful feeling. You get that post-work depression, and when you have jobs that don’t give you much time to rest, you’re not depressed about whether or not you’re going to be going on to the next one. It’s a weird feeling. I’m just excited about the stuff that I’ve been doing recently. That’s the best feeling.

When asked what the meaning of life is, Jenna says: "I don't think there is a meaning to life!"

THE COSMOS ACCORDING TO JENNA ORTEGA

When was the last time I saw you? Maybe at the VMAs?

Ooh, yes it was.

That was sweet. I was surprised to see you and so happy you were there.

I was so excited. They told me five minutes before I went on that I’d be giving you an award.

Aw! So sweet. I had no idea you were presenting it. It was the happiest surprise. OK, let me put my interviewer hat on.

Thank you for having me!

Of course. You’ve had the craziest, biggest year ever. As someone who has witnessed your hard work, dedication, integrity and talent, I just think that no one is more deserving and I’m very happy for you. How has it been? How are you feeling? Has this year been exhausting, exciting, all of the above?

Thank you for all of the kind words. This year has been really exciting. I’ve known you for how many years now? Definitely closer to the start of my acting career. I’ve been acting for 10 years, half of my life. Almost over half of my life. A lot went into it – my parents sacrificed a lot. I sacrificed a lot. It was a group effort. Now that I’m here, especially this year, I feel that I’m just now starting to see scripts that I’m interested in doing and projects that creatively fulfil me. As an actor, that’s all you’re chasing and that’s all you could want. I would say I’m pretty tired, but when I’m not working I lose my mind.

Yeah.

I just got here in LA and I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m kicking rocks in the corner.

Ha!

It’s an awful feeling. You get that post-work depression, and when you have jobs that don’t give you much time to rest, you’re not depressed about whether or not you’re going to be going on to the next one. It’s a weird feeling. I’m just excited about the stuff that I’ve been doing recently. That’s the best feeling.

When asked what the meaning of life is, Jenna says: "I don't think there is a meaning to life!"

THE COSMOS ACCORDING TO JENNA ORTEGA

I had a similar feeling post-tour. On tour, every day is scheduled to the minute – where you are, what you’re doing. Then you finish and you’re like, oh my God, I hate this, I want to be back working. I also liked how you’ve talked about how much you and your parents sacrificed. That was something I witnessed in your life and something that happened in mine, too. Our parents have this camaraderie where my parents love yours.

Yes!

They see themselves in each other. That’s such a real thing and it must be so exciting for them to watch you mature as a young woman and actor. You are now involved in projects that are more mature, ones that you grew up watching. I’m sure that’s really exciting for them. What’s been their reaction to all of this? I assume you’re still super close with them.

Yeah. I feel like they kind of can’t believe it. Not to say that they didn’t believe in me, because obviously they wouldn’t have done six-hour car trips back and forth, four or five times a week, so that I could go to LA and audition, but still. My mom literally said this to me yesterday – she said: “I did not think you were going to be here.” Which is true! That’s what it is. Because we had no connection to Hollywood, it was a random thing. I’m living off of a six-year-old girl’s decisions.

"We had no connection to Hollywood, it was a random thing. I’m living off of a six-year-old girl’s decisions"

JENNA ORTEGA

This is something I said I wanted when I was six. Good for her, she knew what she wanted. It’s worked so far, but my parents are very supportive. They get very nervous, especially because I haven’t been home as much and I haven’t gotten to see them as much. I think it’s hard for them to see me less and less and less. I’m a small girl, I travel a lot. They’re more worried about the safety aspect of it all. But they just want me to be good. I’m very, very fortunate. I have the greatest parents. They just want me to be safe and happy.

I love them. Do you feel like you had to grow up super fast in the industry? When people ask me, they’re always like: “Oh my God, that must have been so fun for you to be on sets since you were a little girl!” I’m like, yeah, it was great, but I was also 13 years old and I was hanging out with adults. It was an interesting upbringing. Similarly, it must have affected the way you turned out.

I wouldn’t say that I felt I had to grow up fast. It’s kind of something I’d already done. Since I was eight years old, people have been calling me an old woman. When you’re working and spending every day in an environment where you’re surrounded by a bunch of adults and you have to talk with them and work in a professional manner, I think a lot of actors seem a bit older than they are, or communicate in a way that other kids their age would have a complete struggle over.

So I think it’s something that comes… Not naturally, because you do have to learn it, but I never felt pressure. I was just so excited to be on a set, and I didn’t want to make any mistakes. I wanted people to want to work with me. So you make sure you know the names and you can have the discussions, find out what people are interested in, keep it up. It was kind of exciting for me. It was like a little game.

"Our parents have this camaraderie where my parents love yours. They see themselves in each other"

OLIVIA RODRIGO

"We had no connection to Hollywood, it was a random thing. I’m living off of a six-year-old girl’s decisions"

JENNA ORTEGA

I had a similar feeling post-tour. On tour, every day is scheduled to the minute – where you are, what you’re doing. Then you finish and you’re like, oh my God, I hate this, I want to be back working. I also liked how you’ve talked about how much you and your parents sacrificed. That was something I witnessed in your life and something that happened in mine, too. Our parents have this camaraderie where my parents love yours.

Yes!

They see themselves in each other. That’s such a real thing and it must be so exciting for them to watch you mature as a young woman and actor. You are now involved in projects that are more mature, ones that you grew up watching. I’m sure that’s really exciting for them. What’s been their reaction to all of this? I assume you’re still super close with them.

Yeah. I feel like they kind of can’t believe it. Not to say that they didn’t believe in me, because obviously they wouldn’t have done six-hour car trips back and forth, four or five times a week, so that I could go to LA and audition, but still. My mom literally said this to me yesterday – she said: “I did not think you were going to be here.” Which is true! That’s what it is. Because we had no connection to Hollywood, it was a random thing. I’m living off of a six-year-old girl’s decisions.

This is something I said I wanted when I was six. Good for her, she knew what she wanted. It’s worked so far, but my parents are very supportive. They get very nervous, especially because I haven’t been home as much and I haven’t gotten to see them as much. I think it’s hard for them to see me less and less and less. I’m a small girl, I travel a lot. They’re more worried about the safety aspect of it all. But they just want me to be good. I’m very, very fortunate. I have the greatest parents. They just want me to be safe and happy.

I love them. Do you feel like you had to grow up super fast in the industry? When people ask me, they’re always like: “Oh my God, that must have been so fun for you to be on sets since you were a little girl!” I’m like, yeah, it was great, but I was also 13 years old and I was hanging out with adults. It was an interesting upbringing. Similarly, it must have affected the way you turned out.

I wouldn’t say that I felt I had to grow up fast. It’s kind of something I’d already done. Since I was eight years old, people have been calling me an old woman. When you’re working and spending every day in an environment where you’re surrounded by a bunch of adults and you have to talk with them and work in a professional manner, I think a lot of actors seem a bit older than they are, or communicate in a way that other kids their age would have a complete struggle over.

So I think it’s something that comes… Not naturally, because you do have to learn it, but I never felt pressure. I was just so excited to be on a set, and I didn’t want to make any mistakes. I wanted people to want to work with me. So you make sure you know the names and you can have the discussions, find out what people are interested in, keep it up. It was kind of exciting for me. It was like a little game.

"Our parents have this camaraderie where my parents love yours. They see themselves in each other"

OLIVIA RODRIGO

Jenna wears jacket NODRESS, dress and shoes LOEWE, skirt MARYAM NASIR ZADEH and socks stylist’s own

I love that. You’ve been acting for over half your life, which is crazy. Has it been strange to grow up in the public eye? Obviously you’re under a microscope now probably more than ever because of the nature of your career and the success you’ve been having. What’s that been like? What’s your relationship with social media and presenting yourself to the public as an actor?

I’m so awful about social media.

Are you really? I feel like you’re great at it!

No! No, no. I just worked with an actor who said: “If I looked at your Instagram before we worked together and then I met you, I [would have] had no idea you were going to be as cool as you were.” He was like, “That’s an awful representation of you!” Which is true. I think there’s part of me which enjoys that, because I feel like some of the stuff that I’m into or things that make me happy, any time I’ve shared them with people, they look at it weird.

I have to look at my social media as a business platform because I think it’s unhealthy for everyone involved. I’d hate to be married to it. I don’t want to be worried about what I look like on there, or how people perceive me on there. It’s just work! It’s just work posts. I’ll talk about whatever and then people can look at me as an actor, not an influencer, and I can focus on that.

In terms of being in public… I have nowhere near the attention that you do, so I don’t know how you deal with all that pressure. I’m not famous. I will say, I think I’m getting recognised a bit more often, which is really weird. Really weird. It’s kind of incredible how aware you can become of a room suddenly. I never know how to react either. So then I get stuck in full-blown conversations. I don’t know what to do. I salute you. I’ve seen you in public and you’ve always been lovely and perfect and so, so sweet. I need to learn from you.

Have you ever had a funny experience with someone coming up to you in public?

I feel like I’ve had a few. My strangest ones are from our Disney days, where I’d go to the restroom and someone would talk to me from underneath a stall. Or when I was washing my hands and someone grabbed me by the arm and took me to their son’s birthday party. And you don’t have enough of a backbone to say no!

"I don’t want to be worried about what I look like on [Instagram], or how people perceive me on there. It’s just work!"

JENNA

That’s so funny. That’s the worst, when people talk to you from under the stall and you’re literally peeing, and you have to talk over the sound.

I have piss anxiety, too. So I’m like, I can’t go until you stop.

That’s hilarious. I watched Scream a few months ago. I was so impressed. I thought you bodied it, it was so amazing and such a hard role to pull off. It’s a hard role in and of itself, but carrying on such a legendary franchise with such legendary actors in the original movies… And also Wednesday. Is it daunting to be a part of franchises with such rich histories?

Scream was and it wasn’t. It was, because they put me in a pink sweater and had me play with knives like Drew [Barrymore] did [in the original 1996 film]. It was very obvious that it was a callback, and that being one of the most iconic cinema moments ever, I felt pressure to do it right. I don’t think I slept the night before. Sometimes when I’m really nervous, I make myself sick. Like, my body can’t help but have a reaction. I had it on that day.

I remember the first time that I shot Wednesday, I had the same reaction. A tonne more pressure, because it’s been done so flawlessly in the past. Christina Ricci is a legend. The character wouldn’t have been as big if it hadn’t been for her performance. I know that I can’t knock anyone off and I have to do it differently, but the script was also very reminiscent of her, so how can I take this and shift it in my manner?

I didn’t realise it at the time, and maybe that’s me being naive and lame because Tim Burton is attached to it, but I didn’t realise that so many people were going to care about the project. I feel like the nerves are coming back even more because I don’t know if I did a good job. I am in almost every scene. I feel like I’m still learning things about her every day – I lay up all night staring at the ceiling like, I could have done this, why didn’t I do that? It’s kind of a nightmare.

"I don’t want to be worried about what I look like on [Instagram], or how people perceive me on there. It’s just work!"

JENNA

I love that. You’ve been acting for over half your life, which is crazy. Has it been strange to grow up in the public eye? Obviously you’re under a microscope now probably more than ever because of the nature of your career and the success you’ve been having. What’s that been like? What’s your relationship with social media and presenting yourself to the public as an actor?

I’m so awful about social media.

Are you really? I feel like you’re great at it!

No! No, no. I just worked with an actor who said: “If I looked at your Instagram before we worked together and then I met you, I [would have] had no idea you were going to be as cool as you were.” He was like, “That’s an awful representation of you!” Which is true. I think there’s part of me which enjoys that, because I feel like some of the stuff that I’m into or things that make me happy, any time I’ve shared them with people, they look at it weird.

I have to look at my social media as a business platform because I think it’s unhealthy for everyone involved. I’d hate to be married to it. I don’t want to be worried about what I look like on there, or how people perceive me on there. It’s just work! It’s just work posts. I’ll talk about whatever and then people can look at me as an actor, not an influencer, and I can focus on that.

In terms of being in public… I have nowhere near the attention that you do, so I don’t know how you deal with all that pressure. I’m not famous. I will say, I think I’m getting recognised a bit more often, which is really weird. Really weird. It’s kind of incredible how aware you can become of a room suddenly. I never know how to react either. So then I get stuck in full-blown conversations. I don’t know what to do. I salute you. I’ve seen you in public and you’ve always been lovely and perfect and so, so sweet. I need to learn from you.

Have you ever had a funny experience with someone coming up to you in public?

I feel like I’ve had a few. My strangest ones are from our Disney days, where I’d go to the restroom and someone would talk to me from underneath a stall. Or when I was washing my hands and someone grabbed me by the arm and took me to their son’s birthday party. And you don’t have enough of a backbone to say no!

That’s so funny. That’s the worst, when people talk to you from under the stall and you’re literally peeing, and you have to talk over the sound.

I have piss anxiety, too. So I’m like, I can’t go until you stop.

That’s hilarious. I watched Scream a few months ago. I was so impressed. I thought you bodied it, it was so amazing and such a hard role to pull off. It’s a hard role in and of itself, but carrying on such a legendary franchise with such legendary actors in the original movies… And also Wednesday. Is it daunting to be a part of franchises with such rich histories?

Scream was and it wasn’t. It was, because they put me in a pink sweater and had me play with knives like Drew [Barrymore] did [in the original 1996 film]. It was very obvious that it was a callback, and that being one of the most iconic cinema moments ever, I felt pressure to do it right. I don’t think I slept the night before. Sometimes when I’m really nervous, I make myself sick. Like, my body can’t help but have a reaction. I had it on that day.

I remember the first time that I shot Wednesday, I had the same reaction. A tonne more pressure, because it’s been done so flawlessly in the past. Christina Ricci is a legend. The character wouldn’t have been as big if it hadn’t been for her performance. I know that I can’t knock anyone off and I have to do it differently, but the script was also very reminiscent of her, so how can I take this and shift it in my manner?

I didn’t realise it at the time, and maybe that’s me being naive and lame because Tim Burton is attached to it, but I didn’t realise that so many people were going to care about the project. I feel like the nerves are coming back even more because I don’t know if I did a good job. I am in almost every scene. I feel like I’m still learning things about her every day – I lay up all night staring at the ceiling like, I could have done this, why didn’t I do that? It’s kind of a nightmare.

Wow. I’d argue that’s why you’re such a great actor, because you care so much. I’m sure you were absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to watch it. Have you met Christina or Drew?

I have been on Drew’s talk show twice.

She’s so sweet.

Oh my God, the loveliest woman I’ve ever met, ever. She’s the coolest. Christina, she did a part in our show, she came during the last two weeks of shooting. I had nothing to say to her, it was the most awkward I’ve probably felt in my entire life. Sometimes I’d say things and she’d go: Ooh, uh, that’s… dark.” Things like that. I didn’t know how to handle it. Since then, we’ve talked and had really great conversations. Even on the day, she was super professional, super sweet, knew everyone’s names. We never talked about Wednesday once.

Wow. She seems like an awesome gal, she’s so talented. You’re going to be amazing. I’m thinking of actors like Christina who have matured so wonderfully in the industry. Where do you think you will be in 20 years? It’s a loaded question so early in the morning.

I literally just woke up.

Same, 20 minutes ago.

I think you can hear it in my voice. I’m trying to think… 20 years? That’s a long time.

Double your life.

I know. I would hope I’m doing jobs that excite me. I think I’d tend to go down the more dramatic indie route. Maybe a good slasher or two in there. I’d like my jobs to be diverse. If I reach some sort of widespread genre collection, that would be exciting for me. And that’s if I continue acting. There’s a part of me that also sees myself stopping and becoming a nurse or something.

I understand that I’m in a very, very privileged place and I’m a very fortunate person. I know that things that have come my way do not come naturally and are not common. So I think in 20 years… I don’t know. I hope that I’m doing work that I’m proud of, maybe closer with family and friends. I couldn’t say. I get overwhelmed so easily if I think about [my life in] 20 years, I could almost be sick.

Do you still want to be a director? Growing up, you wanted to do that.

Oh! Yeah. Thank you, you’re answering my questions for me. You’re doing better than I am. Directing would be insane, and I do want to go back to school for musical composition to become a composer.

Oh! Cool, OK.

Directing, composing and jobs that I’m proud of acting-wise. That’d be a real dream.

I can totally see it for you. Throw in a nursing position, too. Isn’t your mom a nurse?

Yeah, she is. That’s why I want to. She’s the coolest woman alive. I want to save lives, I think that’s pretty neat.

That’s such a cool part about your history, the way you grew up in truly the most normal, wonderful suburban upbringing. Do you have five siblings?

Yeah, six of us total.

Jenna wears dress and underwear BOTTEGA VENETA and belt UNDERGROUND LONDON

Jenna wears shirt, tie and trousers GUCCI

So wonderful. I’m sure that keeps you humbled and grounded. You have such a good head on your shoulders. You’ve worked so hard to get from there to here, and I get when you say “I’m so fortunate and lucky”, but I think you’ve worked so hard and deserve everything coming your way. What was it like working with Tim Burton?

Working with Tim was incredible. I didn’t really know what to expect and every time I’d spoken to him prior… He’s a man of very few words. You speak to him for five minutes about something that might be a really big deal, but he always goes more in-depth with things on set. I remember on the first day, I was really nervous to continue shooting with him because I didn’t know what it would be like.

We’d been trying to perfect Wednesday’s braids. We were two hours behind because he kept coming over and saying: “No, that’s wrong. No, this isn’t straight enough.” They were shaving the back of my neck to create the perfect line. They were cutting my hair on the day – there were hair and make-up artists cutting new extensions in the trailer as we were speaking and as we were shooting. He took a hairdresser’s comb and brushed my hair. He was taking apart my fringe one [hair] by one until it sat in the place he wanted it to sit. Then he hairsprayed it so that it wouldn’t move.

He was very intense and meticulous. He’d never done TV before and I was like, what’s our schedule going to look like? What scenes are getting pushed to tomorrow? After we established the look – which was also very exciting to see him do, because he’s such a visionary – he refused to shoot anything that didn’t satisfy that itch that he had in his brain. It’s very insightful to see. He always did it kindly. He knew everyone’s names, [but] he was very quiet and [kept] to himself. He excused himself if he felt he was in the way.

Jenna wears shirt, tie and trousers GUCCI

I’ve never worked with someone on that level before, but I’ve had people on smaller levels who have been disrespectful to crew, don’t know how to talk to an actor, it doesn’t feel like a collaboration. With Tim, I never had that problem. He’s one of my favourite directors I’ve ever worked with. I feel like I learned so much from him and he was always happy to teach. What a sweetheart of a creature. I’m blown away by him. I don’t know what I anticipated, but after getting to know him, you couldn’t be nervous. He just wanted you to feel as comfortable and prepared to do whatever it was you were doing, which is wonderful.

Jenna wears shirt, tie and trousers GUCCI

So wonderful. I’m sure that keeps you humbled and grounded. You have such a good head on your shoulders. You’ve worked so hard to get from there to here, and I get when you say “I’m so fortunate and lucky”, but I think you’ve worked so hard and deserve everything coming your way. What was it like working with Tim Burton?

Working with Tim was incredible. I didn’t really know what to expect and every time I’d spoken to him prior… He’s a man of very few words. You speak to him for five minutes about something that might be a really big deal, but he always goes more in-depth with things on set. I remember on the first day, I was really nervous to continue shooting with him because I didn’t know what it would be like.

We’d been trying to perfect Wednesday’s braids. We were two hours behind because he kept coming over and saying: “No, that’s wrong. No, this isn’t straight enough.” They were shaving the back of my neck to create the perfect line. They were cutting my hair on the day – there were hair and make-up artists cutting new extensions in the trailer as we were speaking and as we were shooting. He took a hairdresser’s comb and brushed my hair. He was taking apart my fringe one [hair] by one until it sat in the place he wanted it to sit. Then he hairsprayed it so that it wouldn’t move.

He was very intense and meticulous. He’d never done TV before and I was like, what’s our schedule going to look like? What scenes are getting pushed to tomorrow? After we established the look – which was also very exciting to see him do, because he’s such a visionary – he refused to shoot anything that didn’t satisfy that itch that he had in his brain. It’s very insightful to see. He always did it kindly. He knew everyone’s names, [but] he was very quiet and [kept] to himself. He excused himself if he felt he was in the way.

Jenna wears shirt, tie and trousers GUCCI

I’ve never worked with someone on that level before, but I’ve had people on smaller levels who have been disrespectful to crew, don’t know how to talk to an actor, it doesn’t feel like a collaboration. With Tim, I never had that problem. He’s one of my favourite directors I’ve ever worked with. I feel like I learned so much from him and he was always happy to teach. What a sweetheart of a creature. I’m blown away by him. I don’t know what I anticipated, but after getting to know him, you couldn’t be nervous. He just wanted you to feel as comfortable and prepared to do whatever it was you were doing, which is wonderful.

That’s amazing, I’m so happy for you. I’m sure that was the biggest masterclass in filmmaking ever. Do you ever get creeped out doing some of the stuff in Wednesday? Or maybe in Scream, too? There’s some pretty violent stuff.

Not Wednesday. Wednesdays a bit more campy. Scream, honestly, no. There are some really disturbing photos out there of me smiling super wide with stuff all over my face, laying on the floor covered in blood. I love that stuff because it’s not real. 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.

I wish people could see the other side of horror films. We’re laughing so hard the entire time. We shot a scene with Ghostface in the last Scream and there was one day where we could not stop laughing as they were doing their monologue. It’s not so serious. It’s really hard to scare me. People growing up would jump out from behind door frames and I wouldn’t flinch.

I remember that about you.

Yeah. I’ve never been that person.

Jenna wears top CONTEMPORARY WARDROBE, top PRISCAVERA, skirt PRADA and socks and shoes talent's own

Jenna wears dress and belt VAQUERA

Is there anything that scares you?

Confronting myself.

Ha! For real.

Abandonment. Never finding real love. I’m not really scared of death or anything like that. I’m a very paranoid person. Real talk, my biggest fear is losing someone very close to me. Every time I end a phone call with someone I love, I have to say “I love you”, I have to text them and make sure they’re OK and safe. That’s a really big fear of mine.

Of course. And what draws you towards darker projects?

I think we find each other. There’s some invisible string that’s connected to serial killers, monsters, creatures and myself. No matter where I go. I feel like it’s something that’s always been attractive to me since I was younger, something I was always into. It’s what feels right to me and it tends to be the scripts I’m into. I love things that are a bit off-putting, things when the closer you look, really aren’t that pretty. I love things that are disturbing. They’re interesting and there are so many routes and variations of storytelling that you can do with stuff like that. Also, to play a character that is always in a victim position, it’s a nice challenge for me to give them some personality that makes them different from one another.

I don’t want my characters to be all the same, but if they’re in similar situations it’s always so interesting seeing how this person will take it rather than another. They’re also some of my favourite projects to watch. Horror films are what got me out of being a scaredy cat. It’s typically the other way around, but I fell in love with the craft, the passion that goes behind it. You don’t need a lot of money to make a good horror or thriller film. It’s pure adrenaline that you’re creating for an audience. Everyone who’s there is excited and ready to be there. After working on enough sets, they’re always somewhere I’m going to want to be because the passion and dedication on set is unparalleled. They’re always a good time.

Jenna wears dress and belt VAQUERA

I love that. It was so good to see you, Jenna. I’m so happy for you. I love you.

I hope you’re taking care of yourself, sleeping well and all that.

You too. Have a good one.

Jenna wears dress and belt VAQUERA

Is there anything that scares you?

Confronting myself.

Ha! For real.

Abandonment. Never finding real love. I’m not really scared of death or anything like that. I’m a very paranoid person. Real talk, my biggest fear is losing someone very close to me. Every time I end a phone call with someone I love, I have to say “I love you”, I have to text them and make sure they’re OK and safe. That’s a really big fear of mine.

Of course. And what draws you towards darker projects?

I think we find each other. There’s some invisible string that’s connected to serial killers, monsters, creatures and myself. No matter where I go. I feel like it’s something that’s always been attractive to me since I was younger, something I was always into. It’s what feels right to me and it tends to be the scripts I’m into. I love things that are a bit off-putting, things when the closer you look, really aren’t that pretty. I love things that are disturbing. They’re interesting and there are so many routes and variations of storytelling that you can do with stuff like that. Also, to play a character that is always in a victim position, it’s a nice challenge for me to give them some personality that makes them different from one another.

I don’t want my characters to be all the same, but if they’re in similar situations it’s always so interesting seeing how this person will take it rather than another. They’re also some of my favourite projects to watch. Horror films are what got me out of being a scaredy cat. It’s typically the other way around, but I fell in love with the craft, the passion that goes behind it. You don’t need a lot of money to make a good horror or thriller film. It’s pure adrenaline that you’re creating for an audience. Everyone who’s there is excited and ready to be there. After working on enough sets, they’re always somewhere I’m going to want to be because the passion and dedication on set is unparalleled. They’re always a good time.

Jenna wears dress and belt VAQUERA

I love that. It was so good to see you, Jenna. I’m so happy for you. I love you.

I hope you’re taking care of yourself, sleeping well and all that.

You too. Have a good one.

Wednesday is screaming on Netflix now

HAIR Dylan Chavles make-up Yadim NAILS Thuy Nguyen SET DESIGNER Amy Jo Diaz STYLIST’S ASSISTANTS Emilia Fishburn and Giulia Bandioli HAIR ASSISTANT Allison DeMoss MAKE-UP ASSISTANT Joseph Paul THANK YOU Sorelli Presents

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