Jenna Ortega claims that ‘Wednesday’ is not the ‘proudest moment’ of her career

Netflix’s Wednesday became an instant hit when the series premiered on the streaming platform last year, so much so that News outlets reported it was the second most-watched premiere ever, garnering billions of minutes viewed. 

Despite the rave reviews from fans and critics alike, and receiving multiple award nominations for her portrayal as Wednesday Addams, star Jenna Ortega reveals that this isn’t something she would consider the “proudest moment” of her career. The actress shared this revelation during her recent interview on Dax Shepard’s podcast, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard.

In the discussion, Ortega disclosed that her feelings towards the show are because she doesn’t want only to be acknowledged for just that role. While mentioning that she can’t watch the finished product of her projects, Ortega said, 

“I can’t watch my work, but I can go home from set and say, ‘The scene that we shot today felt good.’ On ‘Wednesday,’ there was not a scene in that show that I went home and was like, ‘Okay, that should be fine. Now, a lot of people know me from that.’ It’s not my proudest moment internally, which, I think, also adds an extra level of insecurity and stress. Because it’s like, no, I’m finally getting these offers to these places that I want, but I don’t want to be known specifically for that.”

Later, Ortega also revealed how she felt getting nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award. The 20-year-old expressed that although she was honored by the accolades from the general public, she couldn’t wrap her mind around it, because that moment showcased that people are “easy to please.” Ortega stated,

“My brain completely disregards that: ‘Oh, the general public must be so easy to please.’ People are shipping out content so fast, and the fact that we actually sat down and spent considerable time on that, I think, naturally would elevate or maybe make a show more appealing to an audience.”

Ortega has been a part of the entertainment industry for over a decade and has had minor roles in films and shows, including Iron Man 3 and Jane the Virgin. The actress’ career would ultimately catapult when she starred in the Disney Channel series Stuck in the Middle in 2016.

The show aired on the network for three seasons and ended in 2018. But it doesn’t stop there. Following the end of her hit series, Ortega would star in Netflix’s You, Yes Day, and Scream V before stepping into the role of Wednesday Addams. Ortega’s upcoming projects — aside from the highly- anticipated second season of Wednesday — include Scream VI, for which she will reprise her role as Tara Carpenter.

Wednesday is now streaming on Netflix.