Towards the tail end of 2022, the world of the weird ruled on television. Such was the phenomenon of Wednesday, the Tim Burton-led series which focused on the titular character, Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega. Rather than an Addams family remake, it focused on the students of Nevermore Academy, where Outcasts could live their lives in the open, whether they were vampire or werewolf; gorgon or siren. And it’s at Nevermore, that we met some of the show’s most beloved characters.
There’s Joy Sunday’s brilliant rendition of Bianca Barclay. Or the colourful Enid Sinclair, Wednesday’s roommate and best friend, lensed by Emma Myers. And then there’s Enid’s love interest in Season 1, Ajax Petropolus, the gorgon who now finds himself on a completely different footing with Enid in Season 2.
“Ajax has to sort of deal with getting over a broken heart this season. He’s trying to find himself, find out who he is as a person, and feel more comfortable with himself,” offers Georgie Farmer, the actor who plays Ajax throughout both seasons. “The thing about Ajax though, is that he just wants to help (his friends) in any way that he can,” he adds. So it’s a lot of soul-finding for Ajax, something which Farmer also notes is very much like real life for any individual who’s at Ajax’s age.
“These characters are obviously in a very heightened world and heightened situations, but there is a real humanity to each character, you know? I think that is what is so genius about Tim’s work,” he gushes. Amid new character dynamics with old and new cast mates, as well as growing stakes (which only mean more adventures) in the world of Wednesday, Farmer gets candid with Vogue Singapore about working on Season 2 and the on-screen relationships he loved most.
It’s been almost three years since Season 1, and the Wednesday world is growing. How are you feeling?
Yeah, so excited. We were just in Poland for Wednesday press last week. That’s the thing right, when you start to do interviews about it, and start doing press junkets, it really does kick in. Because you hear the excitement about it coming out, and you start to feel it too. It’s been a long wait too.
What was it like returning to the set of Wednesday?
It was really nice to dust off the school uniform, put it back on and step back into the world. After reading the scripts and seeing the direction in which the story was going in, I think we were all just so excited to hit the ground running. You know, we had an amazing team in Ireland that built the most incredible sets, so it was so easy to enter the world again. To work with Tim again too is such a blessing. What else is really nice too, is that when you return to a character and you’ve sort of had time with it, you feel like you’re growing up with that character, you know?
So tell us how Ajax and Enid’s relationship has changed this season.
This season, Ajax comes back to school, and he’s ready to see Enid, whom he hasn’t seen over the summer. But Enid’s sort of grown over the summer, and I guess she doesn’t necessarily see Ajax in her life that way anymore. And so Ajax has to sort of deal with getting over a broken heart this season. He’s trying to find himself, find out who he is as a person, and feel more comfortable with himself.
Navigating that on top of the breakup, it’s a lot on his plate. But it was so fun to get back and do those scenes with Emma. She’s one of my best friends now, and going back to set together was really, really fun. To have Noah come in, who plays Bruno (Enid’s new love interest), was a really fun dynamic too. So yeah, it’s definitely different this season, but I think fans will hopefully enjoy the ride.
Was there a different side of Ajax you felt you could show this time around?
For sure. Ajax and the Gorgons are sort of like an outcast among Outcasts in the school because Gorgons are told not to look anyone in the eye and to keep to themselves. So for everything that’s happening with Ajax this year, it’s about him becoming more confident in himself and becoming more confident in his powers, so that he can use them to help his friends. That’s the thing about Ajax; he just wants to help in any way that he can. You know, going through high school is such a transformative experience for everyone. So imagine going through high school but also having to deal with having snakes on your head. I really feel for him. That’s the thing with the show too though. Like these characters are obviously in a very heightened world and heightened situations, but there is a real humanity to each character, you know? I think that is what is so genius about Tim’s work. Together with what Miles and Al wrote for the show, it’s clear that there is a real grounding of humanity in that school.
Have you always been a fan of Tim Burton’s works?
When I was younger, I remember the first Tim Burton movie that I became obsessed with was Edward Scissorhands. My mom actually has pictures of me as Edward Scissorhands for Halloween. I also remember getting Tim’s books—of his illustrations and stuff—and I remember being so captivated by his unique vision as a storyteller and filmmaker. So honestly I could never have imagined, in my wildest dreams, that I would be, many years later, doing a Zoom meeting with Tim Burton, auditioning to be in a project he was directing. It was so surreal and it felt like a simulation.
He truly is one of the most down to earth human beings in the world. So just getting a front row seat to see how his mind works when he creates the world that he does? I cannot explain just how much of a genius he is.
If you could live as any other creature in the world of Wednesday, what would it be and why?
I’m going to steal this answer from Joy and Isaac, because they were talking about it and convinced me about it too. So I would say vampire, because their style is just the best. They look the coolest on set. We could be doing big group scenes together, and then you see the vampires, and they just look so cool. So yeah, I don’t know if I’d be able to pull it off, but I would want to try to be a vampire for a day at Nevermore.
What are some of the on-screen relationships you loved watching develop this season?
After watching the first two episodes, I think what’s really clear is the mother-daughter dynamic. There’s a really strong dynamic between Wednesday and Morticia that is really prominent in this season, which I think is really nice to see. And also between Bianca and her mom. I remember watching it and thinking it’s definitely a complicated relationship that they share, yet again, in this heightened sort of world. But it’s really a human feeling. Sort of like anyone who goes through high school and has to figure out their changing relationship with their mom.
Oh, I gotta say though, I do also love the dynamic between Pugsley and Eugene this year. They’re so funny.
What are you most excited for audiences to see in Season 2?
I think this season has everything that people loved in the first season, times a million. It’s obviously a testament to the care for which Jenna, Tim, Al and Miles have for the characters and the show. The scale of it is insane, like even just some of the sets that we saw and that we got to work with. Seeing how that all translates on screen, the new characters that we have, too. The new cast of Billie Piper, Steve Buscemi, Noah Tyler, Owen Painter; you know, these guys came in, and they absolutely elevated the show to such an incredible level. Evie Templeton too, she’s incredible.
Then the returning cast; Emma’s great, Joy’s great, everyone’s great. And then to be led by Jenna, who, I mean, she’s just such an incredible Wednesday. She has so much care for this character and so much care for this show as a whole. She knows how much it means to people and I’m really excited for people to see just how crazy it gets.
So beyond the world of Wednesday, what else are you most excited to be working on?
Well, I did a movie that premiered at the SXSW Festival in March. It was a movie called LifeHack. That was a great experience doing that movie, and I hope that finds a good home. It’s a crazy, crazy story and it was great fun to shoot.
But right now, I’m just so excited for the world to see Season 2. It’s been such a long wait, and I can’t wait for everyone to fall in love with this world again. It sounds really cliché to talk about how Wednesday became the phenomenon that it is. But for it to have the impact it had was just so amazing the first time, and also so overwhelming in certain ways. Again, I just come back to this feeling of being very, very grateful.
