One of the most unique characters in The Addams Family, Thing a disembodied human hand who basically serves as the family pet. From the original black-and-white TV show which had an actor sticking his arm up through a box, there have been different methods used in the various adaptations to bring the odd character to life. In a new interview with Screen Rant, series star Jenna Ortega spoke about how the Thing we meet in Wednesday was made under the guidance of legendary filmmaker Tim Burton.
Burton, famous for directing popular films like Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, helmed four of the eight episodes of Wednesday. He also helped develop the series with showrunners Miles Millar and Alfred Gough. In her new interview, Ortega reveals that Burton was adamant that an actual actor should portray Thing, resulting in the hiring of a magician wearing a bluescreen suit with only his hand exposed. With that said, Ortega and others on set all collaborated with designing a specific “language” for Thing, figuring out what the walking hand means with certain gestures.
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Bringing Thing to Life Takes Time
Netflix
Ortega then explains how the process was very time-consuming, even if it was effective. Getting Thing ready for the cameras would require hours in a makeup chair along with using color-coordinated balls to help set up how the disembodied, sentient hand would be added to the show in post-production. It’s a very neat effect, but getting there does take a lot of planning, as Ortega notes.
A reimagining of The Addams Family, the Wednesday series puts an older teen version of Wednesday Addams into Nevermore Academy, where she utilizes supernatural abilities to uncover a major mystery. Along with Ortega, the series stars, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman, Isaac Ordonez, Gwendoline Christie, and Christina Ricci
Wednesday is now streaming on Netflix.
