Jenna Ortega reveals why she put her ‘foot down’ while starring on ‘Wednesday’

Jenna Ortega says she has been laying down the law on the set of "Wednesday," making sure her voice is heard behind the scenes.

During The Hollywood Reporter Comedy Actress Emmy Roundtable, the 20-year-old was asked about how she goes about voicing her views while starring as Wednesday Addams on the popular Netflix show, which she will also have a producing credit on next season.

"I think that because I’m someone who is very opinionated or because I know what it’s like to be a people pleaser in this industry, and I know how unhappy or how frustrating it’s been in the past, when I went into 'Wednesday', I really put my foot down and made it clear that everything that I had to say mattered and was heard," Ortega said.

As the show continued, she said, the actors and creative team "got a better feel for one another," making for a more "collaborative experience."

"I feel really lucky to be able to be in the room early next season and be talking about scripts and giving notes," Ortega added of her new role.

Speaking to the table of comedic actors, including Sheryl Lee Ralph, Elle Fanning, Ayo Edebiri, Natasha Lyonne and Devery Jacobs, Ortega compared her past TV roles to where she is now.

"I’ve had experiences in TV where I felt my voice wasn’t heard, that I was meant to be a puppet. I’ve been told on sets, 'You wouldn’t know because you’re not a writer,' or, 'Just shut up and do your job.' From 12 years old, I’ve been hearing things like that," she said. "So, I went into 'Wednesday' with hesitance."

The "Scream" actor talked about her gratitude for working with director Tim Burton, who she said told her that "he wanted to be a soundboard for my voice."

She went on to say that the best projects have "as many voices and ideas thrown out as possible."

Later in the conversation, Devery was asked if she feels doors have been opened for her after speaking up and offering an opinion. After answering that they did, Devery called herself "one of those annoying actors who comes in with notes."

Ralph quickly jumped in to say, "That’s not annoying. We all have done it." Ortega then added, "And if anyone makes you feel annoying for doing it, you just keep moving."

Ortega has previously opened up about her decision to put her foot down while working on "Wednesday."

In March, the actor appeared on an episode of the “Armchair Expert” podcast, where she revealed that she had changed some of Addams' dialogue without consulting the show's writers because the scripts "did not make sense" for her character.

"When I read the entire series, I realized, ‘Oh, this is for younger audiences,’" Ortega said. "When I first signed onto the show, I didn’t have all the scripts. I thought it was going to be a lot darker. It wasn’t… I didn’t know what the tone was, or what the score would sound like."

She continued, "I don’t think I’ve ever had to put my foot down more on a set in a way that I had to on ‘Wednesday.’ Everything that Wednesday does, everything I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all. Her being in a love triangle? It made no sense. There was a line about a dress she has to wear for a school dance and she says, ‘Oh my god I love it. Ugh, I can’t believe I said that. I literally hate myself.’ I had to go, ‘No.’ There were times on that set where I even became almost unprofessional in a sense where I just started changing lines. The script supervisor thought I was going with something and then I had to sit down with the writers, and they’d be like, ‘Wait, what happened to the scene?’ And I’d have to go and explain why I couldn’t go do certain things."

Ortega explained her unique approach to Addams and how she envisioned the plot line to go, adding that she became "very, very protective" of her beloved character.

"You can’t lead a story and have no emotional arc because then it’s boring and nobody likes you," she said. "When you are little and say very morbid, offensive stuff, it’s funny and endearing. But then you become a teenager and it’s nasty and you know it. There’s less of an excuse."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com