Jenna Ortega, Luis Guzman and Gwendoline Christie talk to ET about Fred Armisen's new character and working with Catherine Zeta-Jones.
When the official Wednesday trailer was released Saturday, there were plenty of surprises for fans to get excited about. For the cast of Netflix's anticipated new take on the iconic Addams Family daughter, two cameos revealed in the trailer -- Christina Ricci, marking her return to the franchise, and Fred Armisen, who was officially introduced as Uncle Fester -- were highlights of the drop.
Ricci's debut offered more details on her new character, Miss Marylin Thornhill, as the actress, who played young Wednesday in the '90s films, passes the torch to Wednesday star Jenna Ortega.
"She’s very close to Wednesday and Christina being a wonderful character actress that she is really delivers something that is very memorable and again, so impressed by her," Ortega told ET at New York Comic Con over the weekend. "I think people are really gonna love it."
While Ortega noted that she and Ricci "never" spoke about playing the same character decades apart, Ortega praised the Yellowjackets star, sharing that they "got to know each other as artists and individuals."
Gwendoline Christie, who plays Nevermore Academy Principal Larissa Weems, also praised Ricci's performance as Miss Thornhill. "Christina is someone I have admired for so long as an actor and as an icon and a person and she is truly electric in this," the Game of Thrones alum said.
They also geeked out over Armisen's nearly unrecognizable look as Uncle Fester, with Ortega quipping that the former Saturday Night Live star is a "delightful little freak." Luis Guzman, who plays Wednesday's father, Gomez Addams, marveled over the prosthetics and makeup that transformed Armisen into his Wednesday character. "He's a part of the family [and] is amazing," Guzman said. "He had this incredible look. I just saw a picture of him!"
The trio all had glowing things to say about Catherine Zeta-Jones, who portrays the Addams family's matriarch, Morticia.
"Incredibly exciting," Ortega said when asked what it was like have Zeta-Jones play her fictional mom. "I was a huge fan of her work, I have a lot of respect for her as an actor and to be able to watch something like that in real time, I really think it elevates your own personal performance and truly such a pleasure. She’s hilarious and really good company."
Added Guzman, "She was wonderful as Morticia. I got a kick out of [playing] a husband being in love every day that she shows up to work. She was a great team player. She gave Morticia that life that Morticia had."
"I absolutely love my scenes with Catherine," Christie said. "I was a bit starstruck and I just wanted to do the best job possible, but she's so charismatic and so hilarious and she is such a proper movie star that you really do learn. It’s like a master class acting with Catherine and she is truly sensational as Morticia and brings a freshness to the role."
Wednesday, they previewed, will lean into the nostalgia but also inject new life into the world.
"I think everyone just has to be prepared for a new kind of reality and just a different world, a different atmosphere and it's exciting really," Ortega teased.
"I do feel like this is Tim Burton's version of The Addams Family and I feel like his aesthetic is so rich and so established, it's the perfect marriage. It’s a perfect collaboration," Christie explained. "But what I love is that we are seeing it through the eyes of Wednesday Addams. It’s all about her and this enigmatic young girl that we've all been so captivated by in different forms for so long, now we see her journey."
Wednesday premieres Wednesday, Nov. 23 on Netflix.
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