Wednesday star Jenna Ortega doesn’t take the success of the Netflix series for granted.<\/p>\n
“You go and you do these projects, and you don’t know that anyone is going to see them,” Ortega told the ABC.<\/p>\n
“So, for it to have been received in such an overwhelming way is such a great gift.<\/p>\n
“We still can’t believe it.”<\/p>\n
Ortega (Wednesday Addams) was speaking at a fan event at Cockatoo Island over the weekend, where the stars and creators of Wednesday converged on the last stop of their “global doom tour”.<\/p>\n
The former convict gaol and shipyard located in the heart of Sydney Harbour was renamed Wednesday Island for the event with Australian artist Peach PRC taking to the stage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Peach PRC performed at the fan event. (Getty Images: Netflix\/James Gourley)<\/p>\n
Netflix said Wednesday, which premiered in 2022, quickly became a record-breaking global phenomenon, claiming the top spot on the streaming giant’s list of most popular English shows of all time.<\/p>\n
For Ortega, its appeal may lie in the way the show resonates with outcasts and people who feel misunderstood.<\/p>\n
“Everyone feels like that,” Ortega said.<\/p>\n
“I’ve never met a single person [who doesn’t feel that way].<\/p>\n
“Because at the end of the day, it’s you in your head. You don’t have anyone else to rely on.<\/p>\n
“You’re the one making these super crucial life decisions. It’s internal, and it’s just you, and you have to be comfortable and okay with that.<\/p>\n
“So, I think seeing someone who is so young, so self-assured, and so comfortable with herself \u2014 and who doesn’t allow external factors or the world around her, no matter how much it may change, to affect or change her as a person \u2014 is really reassuring and comforting to see.<\/p>\n
“You don’t have to appeal to everyone.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fans were excited to interact with the stars and creators of the series. (Getty Images: Netflix\/James Gourley)<\/p>\n
Hunter Doohan (Tyler Galpin) said it’s “really cool” to be part of something that touches people so much.<\/p>\n
“I think that’s what’s beautiful about the show,” Doohan told the ABC.<\/p>\n
“Everyone in some sort of way in their life feels like an outcast, and they’re celebrated in this show, and I think that’s why people have connected to it.”<\/p>\n
Emma Myers (Enid Sinclair) said the show encouraged people to embrace themselves and find their community.<\/p>\n
“Everybody, whether they want to acknowledge it or not, has a bit of weirdness and darkness inside of them, and I think Wednesday just sort of celebrates expressing that,” Myers said.<\/p>\n
“Wednesday herself as a character just says what everybody’s thinking, and I think people appreciate that, and love seeing that.”<\/p>\n
Gwendoline Christie (Larissa Weems) said she’s only ever been interested in stories that represent the differences in our society and the world.<\/p>\n
“I love being involved in projects that tell very personal stories that are specific and detailed, and about a side of life where perhaps there’s a vulnerability,” Christie said.<\/p>\n
“People find a lot of strength in this show together.<\/p>\n
“There’s a great community and there’s a great togetherness, and people are able to celebrate their similarities and differences.”<\/p>\n
‘Everybody said no except Netflix’<\/p>\n
The Addams family characters, created by Charles Addams, have been re-imagined for a new generation in Wednesday, which is created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville, Spider-Man 2, Shanghai Noon), who were both at the event alongside executive producer and director, Tim Burton (Batman, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands).<\/p>\n
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Hunter Doohan (left), Emma Myers, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Ortega, Tim Burton, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar at the fan event. (Getty Images: Netflix\/James Gourley)<\/p>\n
All three appeared at NIDA in conversation earlier on Saturday about creating the world of Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Burton told the audience Wednesday reflected how he felt as a teenager and adult.<\/p>\n
He said the crew approached every streamer and network to get the story out there.<\/p>\n
“We kind of pitched this to everybody, and everybody said no except Netflix,” Burton said.Directing Thing, the disembodied hand<\/p>\n
Burton also spoke about directing the disembodied hand known as Thing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Emma Myers greets fans while signing a replica Thing. (Getty Images: Netflix\/Hanna Lassen)<\/p>\n
“First of all, the look was important to me,” Burton said.<\/p>\n
“Because otherwise it’s just a hand.<\/p>\n
“So, that’s where all the stitching comes in, where it’s like he’s lived a life.”<\/p>\n
He said Thing was cast in the same way actors are cast, with Victor Dorobantu landing the role.<\/p>\n
“He’s like the Dustin Hoffman of hands,” Burton said to laughter from the crowd.<\/p>\n
“It was very important not to do CG [Computer-Generated] because he’s a character.<\/p>\n
“He was there on the set, there with the actors, acting with them.<\/p>\n
“He’s equal with all the other actors in the show.”<\/p>\n