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Jenna Ortega joined some of this year’s most influential comedic actresses. Alongside Elle Fanning, Natasha Lyonne, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Ayo Edebiri and Devery Jacobs, Ortega sat at The Hollywood Reporter’s annual Comedy Actress Emmy Roundtable. Over the course of the chat, Ortega talked about her experience as a child actor and her partnership with Tim Burton, which gave her the room to speak her mind while on sets.
Ortega has been acting since she was 12 years old, something that has filled her with varied experiences. “I think a project is best when there’s as many voices and ideas thrown out as possible. And I’ve had experiences in TV where I felt my voice wasn’t heard, that I was meant to be a puppet. 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,” she said. Ortega revealed that finding herself in a TV show like “Wednesday” was a scary thing but praised Tim Burton for treating her as an equal, inspiring her to speak up and come back next season as one of the series’ producers.
“But 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. So, every day, me, him, the writers, we’d get together in the morning and go through sides,” she said.
Ortega also discussed her experiences as a producer on season 2 of the series, where she has more of a voice and sway on the character of Wednesday. “And as the show went on, we all got a better feel for one another and it’s become a really collaborative experience, and I feel really lucky to be able to be in the room early next season and be talking about scripts and giving notes,” she said.
There’s no expected release date for the second season of “Wednesday,” but many expect its release date to be around mid-2024.
