The Cast of 'Wednesday': Everything to Know

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Netflix has a new favorite day of the week.

Wednesday, the streamer's new Addams Family series, is officially one of Netflix's most popular shows of all time, having become the first English-language series to surpass 400 million viewing hours in a single week. Shortly after its record-breaking release in November 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.

Tim Burton, the director behind fantasy-horror hits like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, brought his signature eerie vision to the characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams. The series follows the Addams Family's daughter, Wednesday, as she enrolls in Nevermore Academy, a prestigious school for "outcasts, freaks and monsters," as the fictitious academy's website reads. It's also the place where Wednesday's parents — Morticia and Gomez Addams — first fell in love.

RELATED: Everything to Know About 'Wednesday' Season 2

In addition to an acclaimed director, the series also has an all-star cast, featuring a mix of A-list stars, up-and-coming actors and even an Addams Family alum.

For the show's lead, Jenna Ortega, stepping into the role of Wednesday was a no-brainer. "People have been telling me I look like her since I was six years old," the actress told PEOPLE. "And I have a pretty dark sense of humor!"

From where you've seen their faces before to their off-screen dating lives, here's everything to know about the cast of Wednesday.

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams

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Jenna Ortega, 20, was already one to watch before taking on the titular role in Wednesday, but the series has undoubtedly catapulted the actress' career to new heights.

However, there was almost a reality in which Ortega didn't play Wednesday Addams. In March 2023, she told The Times U.K. that she originally "passed" on the role several times.

"I had done so much TV in my life. All I've ever wanted to do is film…You have to prove yourself. It's only in the last three or four years that I've been able to start going up for film," she explained. "I was scared that by signing on to another television show it could prevent me from doing other jobs I really wanted and cared about."

Prior to Wednesday, Ortega was best known for her role as Ellie Alves in the second season of You, but she actually got her start as a child actress. The California native portrayed young Jane on Jane the Virgin from 2014 to 2019 and was later cast as Harley Diaz in Disney Channel's Stuck in the Middle.

In addition to her TV roles, the young star has also amassed several film credits to date, appearing in Netflix's Yes Day and The Babysitter: Killer Queen, as well as HBO Max's The Fallout in 2021 alone.

Even before the release of Wednesday, Ortega was already establishing herself as a scream queen. She played Tara Carpenter in the fifth installment of the Scream franchise, a role she revived in Scream 6. She also appeared in A24's X, playing the girlfriend of an adult film director in the 1970s-set indie slasher.

In Wednesday, Ortega became the latest actress to take on the character created by cartoonist Charles Addams, bringing a whole new side to the death-obsessed little girl previously played by stars like Lisa Loring and Christina Ricci. Ortega took preparation for the role seriously — she told W Magazine that she learned to play the cello, studied German and even trained herself not to blink.

"One time, I did a take where I didn't blink at all," she recalled to the publication about how she and director Burton developed her take on Wednesday's signature scowl. "He loved it so much that he gave me the note to not blink again. If I did blink, we'd restart the take."

One of the most captivating moments of the series occurs when Wednesday attends her high school dance at Nevermore and performs a gothic dance to The Cramps' "The Goo Goo Muck." The scene quickly became a fan-favorite thanks to Wednesday's eccentric moves, which Ortega later revealed she came up with herself.

"I choreographed that myself!" Ortega told NME. "I'm not a dancer and I'm sure that's obvious. I'd gotten the song about a week before and I just pulled from whatever I could … it's crazy because it was my first day with COVID so it was awful to film."

Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams

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Catherine Zeta-Jones, 53, takes on the role of the family matriarch, Morticia Addams.

The Academy Award winner started as a child actress in London's West End, appearing in musicals like Annie and Bugsy Malone. She then appeared on the British television series The Darling Buds of May, which aired from 1991 to 1993. After relocating to Los Angeles, Zeta-Jones became a household name with leading roles in films like The Mask of Zorro (1998), Entrapment (1999), Traffic (2000) and Chicago (2002), the latter of which she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

The actress returned to television in 2017 for the first season of Ryan Murphy's anthology series Feud in the role of Olivia de Havilland. She then had a recurring role in season 2 of the Fox drama Prodigal Son in 2021 before making her streaming series debut in Wednesday.

Zeta-Jones told InStyle that she set out to create a new version of the iconic character in the Netflix series. She focused on crafting Morticia as a modern mother dealing with many of the same issues as any parent with a teen — albeit with the added supernatural aspect.

"It's really Wednesday's story. I'm hoping that they continue with Wednesday's story forever, so I can grow old playing Morticia," she said. "I mean, nothing would make me more happy than to be 80 years old and still playing Morticia."

In real life, Zeta-Jones is a mother of two children, Carys and Dylan, whom she shares with her husband of 22 years, Michael Douglas. Dylan, 22, accompanied his mother to the L.A. premiere of Wednesday, where the actress gushed to PEOPLE about the support her children have shown her.

"Both my daughter and Dylan have been so incredibly supportive to me, not just as an actor, but just me, you know," she said of their "very close relationship."

"I've been extremely blessed to be able to have both in my life," she added.

The following month, Zeta-Jones compared Carys to the character Wednesday. On Dec. 22, 2022, the actress shared a throwback video of her daughter wearing a black and white top at a school event and glaring off-screen.

"Carys, my real daughter as a little girl. 🤣," Zeta-Jones wrote in the caption. "I have had a Wednesday Addams in my life for 19 years and 9 months.🤣 Morticia and I love you my little rain cloud🖤."

Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams

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Luis Guzmán, 66, plays Morticia's husband and the affable Addams Family patriarch in the Netflix series. Before playing Gomez, the Puerto Rican actor was best known for his role as Raoul "El Cid" Hernandez in HBO's Oz, as well as his appearance in films like Boogie Nights (1997), Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and Traffic, where he first acted alongside his future TV wife, Zeta-Jones.

During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Guzmán shared how he was cast in Wednesday, revealing that he was approached by Burton personally and that the director offered him the role without an audition.

Guzmán agreed immediately, but he was sold even further on the project after reading the script for the first time.

"I got the script. I read it. The writing is ... you know, the thing about this Addams Family, it's not about slapstick. The writing is so good, it's so funny. The delivery, and it makes it funny. That's really what sold me," he explained.

As for his personal life, Guzmán has been married to his wife, Angelita Galarza-Guzmán, since 1985. The couple have welcomed seven children together.

Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams

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The role of Wednesday's favorite torture victim, her brother Pugsley Addams, went to 13-year-old actor Isaac Ordonez. He previously appeared in Disney's A Wrinkle in Time (2018) and a handful of indie and short films, though the Netflix series was the young actor's breakout role. However, as Ordonez told J-14, he wasn't nervous "at all" to step in the shoes of such a well-known character.

"I just went in blind," he explained, adding that he wanted to add a "funny" element to Pugsley. "I just went with it and created him."

He was able to glean some inspiration from his TV big sister as well. "She did a really, really fantastic job with Wednesday. She really nailed her character," Ordonez said of Ortega. "Wednesday is a more serious character, but she still has comedy in her, which is Jenna."

Christina Ricci as Marilyn Thornhill

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Joining the cast of Wednesday was a full-circle moment for Christina Ricci, 43, who previously played the titular character when she was 10 years old in 1991's The Addams Family.

The actress reprised her role as Wednesday again in 1993 for Addams Family Values before going on to star in several '90s hits, such as Casper and Now and Then. Ricci then went on to appear in more than a dozen films, including The Opposite of Sex (1998), Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Monster (2003).

She also broke into TV, appearing on ABC's short-lived series Pan Am in 2002 and producing and starring in Lifetime's The Lizzie Borden Chronicles. Ricci also currently plays Misty Quigley on Showtime's critically acclaimed series Yellowjackets.

More than 30 years after she first donned Wednesday's gothic look, Ricci returned to the Addams Family world to play Marylin Thornhill, the house mother of Wednesday's dorm at Nevermore. When asked about passing the reins to Ortega, Ricci told Elle she was thrilled to see the young actress take on the iconic role.

"I loved being Wednesday," Ricci said. "I'm very proud of that role. I also think Jenna Ortega is amazing. She is so brave, so cool, and really doing the part justice. Wednesday is her part now ... [and] those two things can be true at the same time!"

Aside from her career, Ricci is also a mother to two children. She welcomed her son Freddie, 8, with her ex-husband James Heerdegen in 2014. Ricci later filed for divorce from Heerdegen in July 2020. In August 2021, the actress revealed she was expecting her second child, her first with her now-husband, hairstylist Mark Hampton. Two months later, Ricci and Hampton tied the knot in October. They then welcomed their daughter Cleopatra, 1, in December 2021.

Gwendoline Christie as Larissa Weems

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Game of Thrones alum Gwendoline Christie, 44, plays Nevermore's Principal Weems in Wednesday, tasked with keeping the peace between the school's students as well as with the local town's "normie" residents. While Christie is best known for portraying Brienne of Tarth in the HBO series, she's also appeared in a few other major film franchises.

Christie played Commander Lyme in the final installment of The Hunger Games series, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, in 2015. That same year, she starred as Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a role she reprised again in Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017.

Playing Principal Weems in Wednesday was a departure from some of Christie's previous roles. The actress talked with Entertainment Weekly about how much the character meant to her personally, as she got to work with Burton to help shape the role of Nevermore's fearless leader.

"He said, 'You can do whatever you like with the character, feel free to make it whatever you want and we'll keep talking about it,' " Christie explained.  "And that was an unbelievable opportunity from this great cinematic master."

She added, "It is the first time I've ever felt beautiful on screen."

As for her life off-screen, Christie has been in a long-term relationship with fashion designer Giles Deacon since 2013. The pair have even collaborated on a project together, as Deacon designed Christie's wardrobe for her take on Lucifer in Netflix's adaptation of The Sandman.

Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair

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Wednesday's roommate, Enid Sinclair, quickly became one of the series' fan favorites, thanks to Emma Myers' portrayal of the werewolf-in-training as a positive (and colorful) influence on the gloomy protagonist. The 20-year-old has been acting since she was a child, and previously appeared in films like Girl in the Basement (2021) and A Taste of Christmas (2020).

Not only did Wednesday mark her biggest role yet, but it also presented Myers with another career first — getting to work with actors her own age. The actress told Teen Vogue that one of the best parts of filming the series in Romania was bonding with her fellow castmates.

"I've never had a cast around my age before. I'm normally the youngest one on set," she said. "We got along so well."

Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay

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As Nevermore's resident "it girl," Bianca Barclay is less than enthused about the arrival of Wednesday Addams, who immediately threatens the school's status quo. And while the character of a queen bee clashing with a protagonist is nothing new, actress Joy Sunday, 26, was excited to bring a new side to the stereotypical "mean girl."

"I was just elated to be able to put my own spin on it and to really provide a nuanced take on the mean girl, the strong girl," Sunday told Deadline. "I feel lucky to have been able to play her."

Sunday previously appeared in Netflix's Dear White People and Freeform's Good Trouble. She's also lent her voice to the narration of a few audiobooks, including Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda. The actress cites herself as a huge fan of Black Panther star Danai Gurira, and has her sights set on teaming up with the actress for a future project.

"I would be elated to work with her in any capacity. If it's not part of a Marvel project, maybe it could be through Wednesday. There might be a future," she told Deadline.

Hunter Doohan as Tyler Galpin

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Despite being a "normie" living in the town adjacent to Nevermore, Tyler Galpin quickly strikes up a friendship with Wednesday Addams after an intriguing run-in with her at the coffee shop where he works. Hunter Doohan, 29, takes on the role of Galpin, whose down-to-earth vibe is a stark contrast to Wednesday's doom and gloom.

Before starring as Wednesday's potential love interest in the Netflix series, Doohan previously appeared in Showtime's Your Honor alongside Bryan Cranston. He also played a younger version of Aaron Paul in Apple TV+'s Truth Be Told.

Off-screen, Doohan married his longtime partner Fielder Jewett in June 2022 — and his on-screen dad, Cranston, actually served as the officiant!

Percy Hynes White as Xavier Thorpe

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Percy Hynes White, 21, stars in the series as Nevermore's brooding bad boy. White previously appeared in films like Edge of Winter (2016) and A Christmas Horror Story (2015). His first starring role came in 2016, when he was cast as mutant Andy Strucker in Fox's X-Men spinoff The Gifted.

The young actor's role in Wednesday was his biggest yet, but despite the pressure of filming a major series, White described his on-set experience as a "fun" one.

"It was like working on a huge blockbuster movie, and you're with all of your friends and you're just having a ball," he explained to the Toronto Star.

Hynes White will get a chance to work with one of his Wednesday friends, Ortega, on another project. On Dec. 15, 2022, Deadline reported that the two will star in MPCA's Winter Spring Summer or Fall, for which Ortega is also serving as an executive producer. The story follows two teens who fall in love over four days of the year.

Hynes White and Ortega also appeared together at Billboard's 2023 Golden Globes afterparty, where Ortega stunned in a bustier corset with a Wednesday-inspired collar and Hynes White looked dapper in a sparkly black blazer.

Victor Dorobantu as Thing

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The role of the Addams Family's disembodied hand was played by magician Victor Dorobantu, 26. While versions of Thing have appeared in every Addams Family adaptation, Burton's take on the five-fingered character was a bit more, well, Burton-esque.

"Thing was a very different type of Thing. It was scarred with stitches. It's a whole different kind of interpretation," Dorobantu told Vanity Fair.

Wednesday is the Romanian hand performer's first major television project, and though only a small part of him appeared on screen, the character required serious preparation. Dorobantu told the publication he studied American Sign Language, morse code and military hand gestures when developing Thing's language. While filming, he donned a bluescreen suit, crouching behind Ortega to stay as invisible as possible.

Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester

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Despite only appearing in one episode, Fred Armisen's Uncle Fester was one of the most notable characters in the series. And even though his role was small, Armisen, 56, fully committed to the part, telling Vanity Fair that he opted to shave his head instead of wearing a bald cap "to just make it that much more convincing."

The casting of Uncle Fester was kept secret ahead of the show's premiere, and though fans had several theories about who would take on the part of the Addams Family's electrifying relative, showrunner Miles Millar told TVLine that Armisen "was always that first choice."

Armisen's one-episode arc in Wednesday adds to a long list of other guest appearances he's made over the years, popping up in shows like 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and more. He's best known, however, for his long-running stint on Saturday Night Live and his sketch comedy show Portlandia.

Armisen was previously married to singer Sally Timms and actress Elisabeth Moss. He most recently dated actress Natasha Lyonne until their split in April 2022.

Riki Lindhome as Dr. Valerie Kinbott

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Riki Lindhome, 44, takes on the role of Wednesday's well-meaning therapist, Dr. Valerie Kinbott. She previously appeared in films like Million Dollar Baby (2004), Fun Size (2012) and Knives Out (2019). Lindhome is also one-half of the comedy folk duo Garfunkel and Oates, along with Kate Micucci, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for their comedy special, Garfunkel and Oates: Trying to Be Special, in 2016.

In March 2022, Lindhome revealed on Instagram that she had welcomed her first child, a son.