A lot of people are just now realizing that Christina Ricci played Wednesday Addams long before Jenna Ortega did.
In the TV show, the newest version of the Addams Family is shown in a dark and twisted way. The series is mostly about Wednesday’s life as a student at a boarding school for people who don’t fit in. It is directed by Tim Burton, who likes the gothic fantasy genre. There are also some werewolves, vampires, and even sirens who are also students at the school.
Wednesday, who is played by Ortega and is only 20 years old, starts to learn how to use her newly discovered psychic powers over the course of the series. In the process, she discovers a cover-up that has been going on for years and involves a murder scandal that has deeply affected both of her parents, Morticia and Gomez.
Ricci, who is 42 years old, plays Ms. Thornhill on the show. However, some viewers didn’t seem to realize until much later that she had played the original Wednesday in both the 1991 film version of “The Addams Family” and the 1993 sequel of it.
One person took to Twitter to write:
i just found out that the redhead teacher in wednesday is literally played by christina ricci aka HER????!?
i just found out that the redhead teacher in wednesday is literally played by christina ricci aka HER????!? pic.twitter.com/OMZDWWh4J9
— jace (@solentsquared) November 25, 2022
On the other hand, not everyone was quite as surprised to see Ricci on Wednesday, as many viewers took to social media to say that they already knew her.
The fact that you’re watching #wednesdaynetflix and not immediately fangirling over the fact that Christina Ricci is in it, shows me that you need to press pause, step away and go watch the literal reason why a show like Wednesday actually was made #addamsfamily,
one person wrote.
The fact that you're watching #wednesdaynetflix and not immediately fangirling over the fact that Christina Ricci is in it, shows me that you need to press pause, step away and go watch the literal reason why a show like Wednesday actually was made. #addamsfamily
— Kris D Carr (@chrizztophuh) November 26, 2022
Another continued:
I don’t understand. She’s in the credits and she looks like Christina Ricci. How could y’all not realize?
I don't understand. She's in the credits and she looks like Christina Ricci. How could y'all not realize?
— Dr. Haddassah's black table (@DreazyBK) November 26, 2022
Seeing people post ‘Just found out the redhead teacher in Wednesday played Wednesday when she was a kid!’ and I’m like HER NAME IS QUEEN CHRISTINA RICCI AND SHE WAS AND STILL IS GOTH GIRL GOALS,
another added.
Seeing people post “Just found out the redhead teacher in Wednesday played Wednesday when she was a kid!” and I’m like HER NAME IS QUEEN CHRISTINA RICCI AND SHE WAS AND STILL IS GOTH GIRL GOALS
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) November 26, 2022
Ricci’s famous deadpan performance as the oldest Addams child in the 1990s would make any actor playing Wednesday feel intimidated by her presence on set. This is especially true since any actor playing Wednesday would be scared of her. But Ortega has said in many interviews that she wanted Wednesday to be a character that was completely new and different. She has also said that she and Christina Ricci never even called each other by the name “Wednesday.”
Check out the trailer for the new Netflix show Wednesday:
https://youtu.be/Q73UhUTs6y0
I think when she was on set, neither one of us said Wednesday once to each other. I think because she knew not to say anything to me… I don’t think she wanted to get in the way of my performance and feel like she was overbearing. And I felt like I didn’t want to pull up something that she did 30 years ago,
Ortega told MTV News.
For one, the sake of my own benefit, but two, yeah, I didn’t want to rip her off, and I didn’t want to be too much like her. I think our show has superpowers, and outcasts, and evil ghost pilgrims. They’re two very different people, our Wednesdays, I think,
she added.
Wednesday is available to stream on Netflix.
