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Jenna Ortega Has a Lot in Common with Her Wednesday Character: 'I Have a Pretty Dark Sense of Humor'

Jenna Ortega
Jenna Ortega

Jenna Ortega

For Jenna Ortega, playing Wednesday Addams may have been fate.

"People have been telling me I look like her since I was six years old," says the actress, 20, who stars in Netflix's hit series Wednesday, a spinoff of the 1960s TV show and 1990s movies. "And I have a pretty dark sense of humor!"

In signing on to play the iconic role, Ortega tells PEOPLE, "I had to do things a bit different with my physicality and the way I carried myself. She almost has a social awkwardness. So when she does toxic, manipulative things, you know it's not coming out of malicious intent."

RELATED: Will There Be a Wednesday Season 2? What We Know So Far

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams

Netflix Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams

Ortega also shared scenes with Christina Ricci, who played Wednesday in the 1991 film and its sequels, and appears on the Netflix series.

"It was really intimidating because I have so much respect for her as an actress, and being dressed up how she was 30 years ago, it was a little awkward," Ortega admits of working with Ricci, 42. "But I felt safe with her on set almost immediately. She was really sweet about it, and such a generous actress."

RELATED: Christina Ricci Says Jenna Ortega 'Is Incredible' as Wednesday Addams in Series

Still, Ortega — who first major role was as a young Gina Rodriguez in Jane the Virgin in 2014 — says that despite over a decade in front of the camera, "I don't always watch what I've done. I'm hyper critical of myself and it's almost like if I watch myself, it destroys my self-esteem!"

Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams

Netflix Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams

RELATED: Wednesday Parents Guide: What to Know Before Watching with Kids

Regardless, the actress says she's grateful for her success thus far- and looking forward to a bright (or dark!) career ahead.

"I never want to be pigeonholed, but I have immense respect for the horror genre," says Ortega, who also starred in X, Insidious: Chapter Two and this year's Scream reboot. "It's incredibly hard for me to turn down a good horror script and I've been lucky enough to do a lot of it in recent years."

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As for what's next? "I don't know what the future holds," she says. "I feel like I won't know it until I see it!"