Wednesday, a coming-of-age supernatural horror comedy television series, will premiere on the day of the same name, November 23, 2022. The Netflix series is based on the Charles Addams cartoon The Addams Family. While Jenna Ortega, best known for her roles in Jane the Virgin, Stuck in the Middle, You and The Fallout, to name a few, will play the eponymous heroine, Catherine Zeta-Jones will play her mother, Morticia Addams. Gomez Addams, Morticia’s husband and Wednesday’s father, is played by Luis Guzmán.
Lifestyle, career and net worth of Luis Guzmán
Guzman was born on August 28, 1956 in Cayey, Puerto Rico, and raised in Greenwich Village, New York City by his hospitalized mother, Rosa, and TV repairman stepfather, Benjamin Cardona. The social worker and American University graduate worked as an actor at night and eventually became active in indie cinema and street theatre. Guzman has put in some remarkable achievements in his four-decade career. The character actor starred in a number of high-profile films, including Oz, Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Out of Sight (1998), The Limey (1999), Narcos, and Code Black.
Wednesday marks the second collaboration between Zeta-Jones and Guzman after Traffic (2000). Guzman’s estimated net worth is around $13 million. He lives on a 337-acre property in Sutton, Vermont, with his wife Angelita Galarza and their five children.
Guzmán at his “Wednesday” casting
Guzman recently appeared on The Rich Eisen Show, where he claimed he was unaware of the series’ existence and that the director, Tim Burton, had him in mind for Gomez’s character. He claimed:
“I was in Cardiff, Wales, when I got a call saying ‘Tim Burton wants to talk to you.’” ‘Is that Tim Burton?’ Yes!’ So the next day we went Zooping, and he was like, ‘Hey, man, we’re doing this thing about The Addams Family.’ ‘Oh wow,’ I thought. Cool.'”
Guzman was surprised and unprepared for what was to follow. He continued:
“I’d like you to play Gomez,” he added. ‘For real?!’ I exclaim. Really? Okay, let’s get started!’”
Guzmán’s casting, on the other hand, was widely criticized. When the first photos of Guzman’s Gomez Addams were revealed in August, many compared him to the previous incarnation portrayed by the late Raul Juliá in The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), as well as John Astin in TV series. Guzman’s Gomez, they felt, lacked the composure and captivating physical appearance of Julia and Astin’s portraits. Experts, on the other hand, believe that Guzman is the ideal casting for Gomez. Since the character has a pot-bellied physique, hideous appearance, snub nose, crooked teeth, and receding chin, Guzman fits the description.
Gomez, according to Charles Addams, is:
“Husband of Morticia (if they are married at all)… a scheming schemer, but also a merry man in his own way… though sometimes deluded… sentimental and often puckish – optimistic, he is full of enthusiasm for his terrible conspiracies… has occasionally been seen in a rather formal dressing gown… the only one who smokes.”
As a result, it seems that the criticism of Guzman’s Gomez was unfounded, as many netizens agreed.
Wednesday: Cast, crew and plot summary
Wednesday was created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, creators of Burton and Smallville. The summary of the series is as follows:
“Weekend Addams, smart, sarcastic and a little dead inside, investigates a murder spree as he finds new friends – and adversaries – at Nevermore Academy.”
In addition to Ortega, Zeta-Jones and Guzman, Gwendoline Christie from Game of Thrones also stars in the series. Interestingly, Christina Ricci, the original Wednesday Addams, will also appear in the episode as Marilyn Thornhill.
