In order to prepare for Netflix’s Wednesday, Jenna Ortega spent months learning the cello despite having no prior expertise with the instrument.
Since its debut on November 23, Netflix’s newest popular series Wednesday has broken all previous records for the service, surpassing favorites like Stranger Things and Bridgerton in terms of the amount of viewing hours it garnered in a single week for an English-language series.
The eight-part Netflix original comedy is centered on Wednesday, the troublesome daughter of the Addams family, who Jenna Ortega plays.
The Addams Family, a famous 1991 movie starring Christina Ricci as Wednesday Addams and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, is featured in the television series.
In two scenes that are essential to the progression of the series’ central plot, Ortega’s portrayal of Wednesday finds her playing the cello and bow.
However, opinions among viewers are divided as to whether Ortega actually played the cello in the movie.
Jenna is required to play the violin, fence, fight, and generally be the best at whatever she does as Wednesday Addams.
Many of Jenna’s followers began to wonder if she could play the cello.
Jenna talked about her experience of playing cello in an interview
In an interview with WIRED, Jenna discusses this and responds to the most frequently asked questions about her on the web.
She explained, ‘I learned the cello for Wednesday. I began practicing the cello around two months before we began filming. I doubt I could play very well right now because I’ve been working so much of the time that I’ve been away from home. But Jenna’s cello journey is not over yet. It’s something I want to keep pursuing,’ she admitted.
‘I have a great deal of admiration for cello players. It’s such a charming instrument, in my opinion.’
Though it can often look so depressing in the series, it’s amusing that she uses the word “delightful” to describe it because it clearly provides joy to Wednesday.
Even though there wasn’t much time between getting the role of Wednesday and filming the show, Jenna Ortega quickly picked up the basics of the cello to at least give the role an appropriate representation of the instrument.
In an Auto-Complete Interview with Wired posted on YouTube, Ortega claims that she started cello lessons about two months before Wednesday’s filming.
Since the episode’s airing, she has also provided a sneak preview of her training on social media.
However, astute viewers may notice that the score displayed in front of Wednesday in episode one is really Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1, which Ortega learned to play for the moment rather than the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” soundtrack.
Furthermore, the cello strings must be plucking rather than bowing to play the staccato notes in the “Paint It Black” cover that is put over the soundtrack for the montage section.
Ortega is not at fault for the inconsistencies between the soundtrack and the visual images, but they should be considered for a Netflix production with the stature of Tim Burton‘s
