For Steve Buscemi, Fred Armisen and Luis Guzmán, it was only appropriate that The Addams Family-inspired series Wednesday Season 2 felt like a family reunion, given that all the stars were reuniting with director and executive producer Tim Burton.
Since Guzmán brought Gomez Addams to life and Armisen gave spark to Uncle Fester in Wednesday Season 1 in 2022, the wait to reunite with the iconic director wasn’t long for Season 2, at least by Buscemi’s standards.
After all, it’s been more than two decades since Buscemi first collaborated with Burton on Big Fish in his memorable turn as Norther Winslow, one of the fantasical people in the seemingly tall tales told from the memories of Edward Bloom (Albert Finney).
“That was just one of the many draws of me wanting to be a part of this season of Wednesday,” Buscemi, sitting alongside Armisen and Luis Guzmán, said in a recent Zoom conversation. “Then when you have The Adams Family, an amazing ensemble cast and then throw in Tim Burton, it’s just incredible.”
Guzmán said he loves the way Burton collaborates with his performers and is always up for suggestions.
“For me, it’s a total collaboration. I like to stick to the page and to the map that’s been laid out, but once in a while, if I have an idea or suggestion, it’s welcomed,” Guzmán said of acclaimed filmmaker. “As an artist, if you can collaborate with these other artists like that and really feel a part of generating these ideas and these moments, it makes me feel great to be a part of it.”
Armisen said he was happy to bring more of what he did as Uncle Fester from Wednesday Season 1, since the role of the wacky Addams Family member has expanded in Season 2.
“I think a lot of [what I needed for the character] was already there in Season 1 just because Fester’s mannerisms and everything are already set,” Armisen said. “So, this time going in, Tim was just like, ‘Let’s just do more of this.’ There were more scenes, so I got to do, but basically I stuck to that character the way he was in Season 1.”
Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, Wednesday Season 2 introduces Buscemi’s Barry Dort, the new principal at Nevermore Academy.
Unlike Gomez Addams and Uncle Fester, Dort is a new character joining The Addams Family lore, so he said there are advantages in molding the Nevermore principal yet creative challenges to ensure the academy’s alumni-turned-principal didn’t feel out of place.
“It was a challenge and also fun because I’m a completely new character. But his position is not new since he’s coming in as [Nevermore’s] new principal,” Buscemi recalled. “The challenge was to come up with a unique character that fit into this world.
“So, Tim and I put our heads together and discovered that Dort is enamored with Edgar Allan Poe,” Buscemi added. “[We thought], ‘Let’s model his look on that. Once we figured that out, then we were off to the races.”
‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Also Reunited The Stars With Jenna Ortega
Steve Buscemi, Fred Armisen and Luis Guzmán’s work in Wednesday Season 2 didn’t mark the only reunion on set.
In addition to Guzmán and Armisen reuniting with Jenna Ortega after Season 1, Buscemi got the opportunity to work with Ortega before, when they co-starred in director Taika Waititi’s upcoming sci-fi drama Klara and the Sun, which is expected to come out later this year.
“For me, my character is so enamored with Wednesday, and I feel that way about Jenna, so it was nice to put you know my feelings about how I admire Jenna as an actor to put that into Dort,” Buscemi observed. “He wants Wednesday to like him and respect him, and she pushes against him. I think that he likes that even more, that he’s getting the full Wednesday treatment.”
Guzmán said he admires Ortega’s focus on the character and can’t say enough about the way she brings Wednesday Addams to life.
“Oh, my God, she’s a prodigy. She’s so well-focused and carries herself very well. She’s a pro,” Guzmán enthused. “I have done quite a few scenes and just standing up to her, I’m literally like, ‘Wow.’ She’s so focused that she plays Wednesday exceedingly, incredibly well and beautifully. It’s just awesome to watch her and be in the same space with her.
Armisen further illustrated Ortega’s focus by revealing one of her processes on set.
“She goes through every one of her lines and really thinks of the logic of every line all the way through,” Armisen said. “So, I think when she’s doing that, it makes everyone else kind of go, ‘Oh yeah, let me rethink what I’m doing.’”
Wednesday Season 2, Part 1 also stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Emma Myers, Joy Sunday, Hunter Doohan, Billie Piper, Isaac Ordonez, Victor Dorobantu, Georgie Farmer, Moosa Mostafa, Evie Templeton, Owen Painter, Noah B. Taylor and Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo.
Season 2, Part 1’s guest stars include Joanna Lumley, Thandiwe Newton, Jamie McShane, Haley Joel Osment, Heather Matarazzo, Joonas Suotamo and Christopher Lloyd.
The first four episodes of Wednesday Season 2, Part 1 are new on Netflix, while Part 2, featuring Episodes 5-8, will premiere on the streaming platform on Wednesday, Sept. 3.