Icon is a word that actually applies to Wednesday Addams. She’s been around since the 1930s when the cartoon of her curious and kooky family first appeared in the New Yorker magazine.
The Netflix series Wednesday is the latest version. Jenna Ortega is back to play the lead role in season 2, which will be on our screens very soon.
Also playing Wednesday right now is Lauren Jones in The Addams Family: The Musical. So how do you play a character everyone already knows and loves? Bitesize decided to brave an interview with Wednesday herself, well Lauren’s version, and find out…
As Wednesday returns to our screens, we talk to Lauren Jones who plays her on stage
My name is Lauren Jones and I play Wednesday Addams in the Addams Family UK tour.
I've literally wanted this role for years, I remember watching it when it was first on tour and it was Carrie Hope Fletcher who was in the role and me and my mum had gone to watch it and we thought it was insane, not only her but the whole musical itself, like the ensemble was so slick and from there I wanted to be Wednesday Addams.
Yeah it's a role that I've wanted for years and also It's something that's like been a stamp in my career, if that makes sense. So like when I auditioned for drama schools, and got in, I sang Pulled, which is the big song that she gets to sing. There's like a line in the opening song where it says the standard answers don't apply when you're in Adams, which I absolutely love. They're different and they're not afraid to be different. They're kooky, they're weird and they're spooky.
Makeup is like a massive part of her character making it really feel like Wednesday. My eyes feel a lot heavier because there's a lot of makeup on them and I've got like a black eyeliner as well and it's really good for the Kubrick stare which I watch like in interview withJenna Ortega how she talks about that where it's like this and your whole face like relaxed but your eyes are just so steely. The amount of times that I've nearly had tears in my eyes just because I didn't blink but it really helped me really get into that really dark mindset of just looking through my eyebrows and also because I kind of do an under-eye situation because I believe she's a bit of an insomniac, she doesn't really sleep. If she could be a vampire she would but because of that I have like these dark under eyes so even when I'm not fully putting a hundred percent into my face if I was like relaxing a tiny bit it still looks like I'm pulling it.
It's tricky because her and know her and especially with this new version of her I was very worried because she goes through a lot of different emotions that we haven't seen before and when there's a new version of Wednesday will people take to this version she's going to sing she's going to dance she's going to smile sometimes you know and it will be hard for her to smile she's trying it's like again in the second movie when she's like trying to force it on and they're terrified, everyone's terrified of her smiling as they should be. But it's having those different emotions.
There's also a different look for her as well. There's like a mesh kind of top. We've got like the collar so there's a call back to our OGversion but we've got like a Lydia Dietz kind of hairstyle. We've kept my hair for it which is really really cool but also scary as well because are people going to be okay with this new version of her? And because she's 18 and she's rebelling against her mum. I see her as going through this phase of it’s 2 am, I'm going to cut my hair. New version of me, cuts the plaits off.
Yeah, so Wednesday, season two, I'm feeling okay about it. I don't care at all about it, I think. Really excited! Been looking at the trailers, I really cannot wait. It's just such a shame that I think it happens, it airs after we finish the tour, and I'm going to see things thatJenna does and I'm going to go, oh, that's so clever. Why didn't I do that? (upbeatmusic)
"Wednesday’s 18 in our show. The plaits had to go…"
We all know the song - they’re creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky - and we all know Wednesday. The plaits, the headless doll, zero time for her brother or anyone else in fact - but the version of Wednesday Lauren Jones is playing is a little bit different.
Lauren told us in the musical, Wednesday is dealing with growing up. “Just how monotone she is, how blunt, how dark she is. I think that's why we love her because she's just so unapologetically her.” But she’s 18 and rebelling which for Wednesday means cutting off the plaits and falling for a normal boy. This all leads to her feeling “a thousand emotions” at once, something she finds “very new and scary.”
Grappling with this new version of Wednesday is something Lauren found tricky too. “I wanted to create a version that everyone instantly recognises as Wednesday,” Lauren said. She put in lots of research to make sure that’s the case and told us clever flashbacks in the production mean the old Wednesday isn’t completely lost as her story develops.
The research whirlpool…
Preparing for the role, Lauren studied everything she could on the Addams Family; the old TV series, films, comics and even found school productions online; “I am a massive researcher, I go down a whole whirlpool," but a teacher once told her, ”when you do your research, do as much as you can, and then when you start work, leave it at the door."
Asked for her favourite onscreen Wednesday, Lauren couldn’t pick just one, “its between Jenna Ortega and Christina Ricci. They've absolutely nailed her as a character, they’re different but similar so that whenever you watch them, you go, that's Wednesday.” Lauren explained that her preperation for the role was influenced by both actors, “so when you see the show, you'll see little bits of them scattered throughout."
Watching the trailers ahead of season two, Lauren is disappointed it isn’t out already, she said “I’m going to see things that Jenna Ortega does and go oh that’s so clever why didn’t I do that?" Lauren believes that a performer’s mantra is that you’re constantly changing, meaning the work is never done; “like years from now if I ever watch my version of the song Pulled on YouTube, I'm going to go I should have done this or that. But I'm very very excited to watch the next season.”
How to recreate the Wednesday look - Lauren's makeup tutorial
So first thing is the foundation. Then we go on to the eyeshadow, which can be green or purple, but I tend to go more for purple as it works better with my colouring. And I try to make it as angular as possible, as dramatic as possible.
Then we have some under eyes. So for that one, I was inspired by Helena Bonham Carter with her version of Mrs. Lovett, so there's a bit of red that goes underneath, then a bit of purple to bring all the purple in, and maybe a tiny bit of black if I'm feeling a bit darker that day. Then I also put a bit of silvery white, this goes on just below my brow, so it just lifts the whole face a bit more, because if it's too dark, you're going to actually lose my features.
Hair, we put a bit of, I think it's moulding paste, that's it, and it goes into the hair. Usually I would have a mic in, so I kind of mould it around the mic and try to hide the mic as much as possible. Then that's it. That's all you need to know about Wednesday. And don't forget her signature black nails.
"She’s 18... so I can go even bigger on the makeup"
A major part of Lauren’s studying for the role was Wednesday’s look in the films and TV series, she explained, “with Christina Ricci it's very natural and then Jenna Ortega it's more on the bottom lashes, just to make her eyes look a bit bigger." But as Lauren’s Wednesday in the show is older, she develops it further; “she's 18, she's a bit more rebellious so I can go even bigger on the makeup.” Lauren explained that she spread her research net wider, “I instantly went to TikTok to look at how cosplayers have done it, they’re phenomenal when it comes to their makeup, so accurate in their different interpretations."
Lauren does her own make up for the show and the eyes are key, “my eyes feel a lot heavier because there's a lot of makeup on them and it's really good for the Kubrick stare,” Jenna Ortega has talked about this in interviews, Lauren explains, “your whole face is relaxed, but your eyes are just so steely. The amount of times that I've nearly had tears in my eyes because I didn't blink.” But Lauren explains this helps her get into character, "to get into that dark mindset of looking through my eyebrows.” Lauren also suspects Wednesday is a bit of an insomniac, ”she doesn't really sleep. If she could be a vampire she would, so I have these dark under eyes. Even when I'm not fully putting a hundred percent into my face, it still looks like I'm pulling it.”
Lauren’s three tips to create the Wednesday look at home:.
- Edges are really important: cheek bones clean cut, sharp as a blade.
- Darkness as well, go as dark as you can with it. For stage go a bit more dramatic, for an event go a bit more subtle
- Setting it. I've got a little spray, if you're on stage you're going to need it to be set because when you're running around everywhere sweat is happening, it just goes down your face.
Lauren finds that any character she’s ever played, once the makeup and hair are done it completely changes her. But with Wednesday the costume adds to the physical portrayal too, she told us; “Wednesday, she has these boots which are incredibly heavy and stompy, they’ve a skull on the back and a chain underneath.” Lauren also explained that not only did these boots complete the full Wednesday look - they also helped her portray the character’s movements, ”because my legs are weighted, how I walk is very deliberate, very up and down, very stiff backed."
That dance…
All eyes will be peeled for viral moments from the new series too. If you’re a fan you’ll know the dance from Season 1, episode 4. Jenna Ortega choreographed her own moves to ‘Goo Goo Muck' by The Cramps, inspired by performances from 1980’s singers Siouxsie Sioux and Lene Lovich.
Lauren learnt it too but didn’t post her clip. “It's a draft saved on my TikTok because I cosplayed as her, I went to Comic Con as her. I made the jumper, the necklace, I've got the wig with the plaits and everything." But Lauren was auditioning for the role of Wednesday at the time, (the London version of the show) so she didn’t want to jinx things by posting the clip. But Lauren didn’t get that London role, so thinks maybe NOT posting the clip was the jinx! However, that won’t stop her filming it again, now she’s finally landed her dream job, she said; “I’m definitely recording it with this new costume, and cast, I have to, it’s too iconic.”
“I've literally wanted this role for years”
Lauren’s connection to the role of Wednesday goes way back, when she first auditioned for drama school and sang ‘Pulled’ from the show. She got in. She also sang the song for her show reel which got her an agent, Lauren excitedly told us, “I've literally wanted this role for years, I remember watching it when it was first on tour, it's been a stamp in my career, something that's been part of my life for a while.”
The character of Wednesday, what she stands for, means so much to Lauren, she said, “I'm sure many people have this as well - you're still discovering yourself, you're trying to fit in, so through Wednesday, it's a cathartic experience playing the character. It's a bit of me, of course not the sadistic or masochist side of her, thankfully, but definitely that confusion and just wanting to be in love with this boy and wanting to feel it in its thousands of ways and just wanting it to feel okay."
Also appearing in the stage musical is former X factor winner Alexandra Burke. Lauren is a huge fan and thinks she is a perfect fit for the role of Morticia. But Alexandra can also be a distraction backstage, Lauren laughed and told us, “there's a moment before I sing and she always blows me kisses before I go on stage, which is infuriating because I have to be miserable and get into the role.”
Family provides invaluable support to Lauren as an actor and she told us starring in The Addams Family feels like a family too; “You get to sing and dance and be with your friends every day on stage, creating this amazing show for other people to go away and hopefully want to do their own version.” Lauren also hopes she’s inspiring a next generation of performers; “We've had so many schools saying we're watching yours for research because they're going to be putting on a show of The Addams Family.”
But we still can’t get Lauren to share this one trade secret with us. How they create Thing on stage? The autonomous right-hand man/Hand aiding in many of Wednesday escapades; “I don't want to ruin the magic of it!’, she says the audience are enjoying seeing where Thing pops up, “It's almost like a game to see where he's next going to appear, so I'm not going to reveal it. Sorry”
Wednesday Fun Facts:
- Cartoonist Charles Addams named Wednesday after the Monday's Child nursery rhyme line: 'Wednesday's child is full of woe', her middle name is Friday as she was born on Friday 13th
- Lisa Loring played the original Wednesday on TV screens from 1964, it ran for only two years and 64 episodes, plus many repeats.
- Christina Ricci played Wednesday in the 1991’s "The Addams Family" and 1993’s Addams Family Values, establishing the deadpan expression, melancholy sarcasm and look, firmly in our Halloween costume memory bank. She also appears in Netflix’s Wednesday season one as science teacher and dorm-mum Marilyn Thornhill
- Netflix’s current incarnation Wednesday is their Number One English language show, season one racked up over 252 million views in over 50 countries worldwide. This is way ahead of British show Adolescence, currently at number two on 142 million and Stranger Things, third with almost 141 million views.
- In Season one, Wednesday dances to to Goo Goo Muck by punk band The Cramps. But many fans modified the clip to feature Lady GaGa’s ‘Bloody Mary’ at double speed. One Youtube version has 618 million views with numerous dance tutorials across social media. Is Lady GaGa in Wednesday season two? Yes. Netflix confirmed that GaGa will appear as a “mysterious and enigmatic” teacher, who will cross paths with Wednesday. We can’t wait!
Series 2 of Wednesday begins on Netflix on Wednesday (see what they did there) August 6 2025, followed by Part 2 on September 3. Lauren Jones stars as Wednesday in The Addams Family: The Musical at venues across the UK this summer.
This article was published in July 2025.
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