Interviews by Elisa Leonelli
On August 6 arrives the second season of Wednesday, the popular 2022 series from Netflix, directed by Tim Burton, inspired by The Addams Family, with Jenny Ortega playing the teenager endowed with psychic superpowers. Catherine Zeta-Jones is Morticia, the mother, Luis Guzmán is Gomez, the father, added to the cast is the British actress Joanna Lumley as Hester Frump, the maternal grandmother.
Why did you decide to deepen the family ties of the Addams, by introducing Wednesday’s grandmother?
Tim Burton: “The introduction of Hester Frump (Joanna Lumley), Morticia’s mother and Wednesday’s ally, brings a new level of complexity to the women of the Addams family. I find very interesting the mythology of this family, that is drawn back again to the school Nevermore Academy at this point in their lives, which causes friction, but reveals other family dynamics.”
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday (c) Netflix
What is Wednesday’s relationship with her family?
Jenna Ortega: “Sometimes, when something really traumatic and terrible happens to her, like a hug, Wednesday just pretends it never happened. But she really lets her guard down with Enid (Emma Myers) at the end of the first season, and in the second season she doesn’t want anyone to question her relationship and friendship with Enid, who’s undeniably become part of her family. Wednesday isn’t very vulnerable in general, just because she’s usually the smartest in the room, but she never denies her love, her passion or her hate for her family, and Enid just naturally becomes part of that.”
Joanna Lumley as Hester (c) Netflix
How would you describe the character of the wealthy and elegant grandmother Hester Frump?
Joanna Lumley: “She’s ghastly, she’s grand, she’s vain, she’s greedy, and these traits come very naturally to me, which is exactly why Tim chose me. The only person Hester really likes in the family is Wednesday, she sees her as a shining light, because she recognizes in her the spirit and streak of bad, danger, daring, everything that she doesn’t see in Morticia.”
What does Gomez the dad teach to his children?
Luis Guzmán: “I was the one to really generate that whole philosophy and mentality of being an outcast and how beautiful it is. So at this point, because of all that has happened, I feel like a real failure. In the second season Gomez gets closer to Pugsley (Isaac Ordonez), who has now joined the Nevermore Academy, and he is revealed as the worst and best role model for his son, something of which he is really proud.”
Do you understand the Gomez character since in your life you are the father of five children?
Luis Guzmán: “I love being a father in real life and contributing that feeling to Gomez, because he really does care about his daughter, his son, his wife, sometimes even Thing. I’m able to portray that with purity and honesty, because it comes to me organically.”
The Addams Family (c) Netflix
In what ways does the Addams family change in the second season?
Catherine Zeta-Jones: “Both Luis and I were thrilled that we could participate more in the life of our children in the school. It was wonderful for us parents to be able to explore Wednesday’s world, even though she didn’t want us to be there, but we literally planted ourselves within the school grounds of the Nevermore Academy. The Addams family is quite a modern family, we embrace the idiosyncrasies and traits of the outcasts, we encourage them, we don’t try to box them away, we welcome everyone with open arms, we tell them, you’re welcome in here.”
What is the relationship between Morticia and Wednesday?
Catherine Zeta-Jones: “The mother-daughter dynamic is quite unique, in that there’s such a deep sense of love between them, but they have two completely different personalities, given that Morticia is positive, like a dove, while Wednesday is negative. The arrival of the grandmother adds another nuance, a genius idea of Tim Burton. Morticia understands that she wants to be a different mother to Wednesday than Hester was to her daughter.”
What does Morticia learn in the arc of the story?
Catherine Zeta-Jones: “As in reality, I remember the warning of that old adage, that you cannot try to put an old head on young shoulders, which a lot of parents do, including me. Morticia knows that Wednesday has extraordinary powers and abilities, but makes a mistake when she thinks she can twist them to her liking, then their relationship is put to the test.”
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán (c) Netflix
Did you enjoy doing that dance with Gomez and that fencing duel with Wednesday?
Catherine Zeta-Jones: “Morticia is very humble, even though Wednesday says that she’s always good at everything. She claims to usually only sing at funerals, but then, when they put the record on, she does belt a little song and dances with her beloved partner. But it had nothing to do with the fact that I was in the musical Chicago and did sword fighting in The Mask of Zorro. Those are all characteristics organic to Morticia. For me it was thrilling and fun, just like fulfilling a dream.”
(English translation of Italian text posted on Best Movie.it)