Thing In Netflix’s ‘Wednesday’ Was Played By A Human In A Suit
Images via Netflix
Tim Burton’s Wednesday is out on Netflix, and a round of binge-watching is in order … snap, snap. The coming-of-age comedy horror series centers around life at a school of outcasts for the titular character (played by Jenna Ortega), who initially thinks everything—including Nevermore school, whose name is enough to send shudders down townsfolk’s spines—is too normcore for her, until she stumbles upon a murder mystery. Fans will swoon at the fact that Christina Ricci, who filled in the shoes of Wednesday in The Addams Family films back in the 90s, has returned to play a teacher this time around.
There are many characters in the show that viewers will love. Among them is Thing, the loyal right hand(?) of the Addams family, who is first sent to the school by Wednesday’s parents to spy on her until she threatens him into subservience.
And while Thing’s origin story has always been a mystery, the real-life background of the dismembered hand in the Tim Burton reboot isn’t. Thing in this version is portrayed by Victor Dorobantu, a Romanian magician and illusionist who definitely has a history of keeping tricks up his sleeve. Interestingly, Wednesday is his first acting credit.
To stay out of sight, Dorobantu wore a blue bodysuit and hid behind walls while his hand did most of the acting. As any magician would agree, you’d have to see it to believe it, so he’s posted some behind-the-scenes photos that show him crouching near his co-star in the most uncomfortable positions.
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Ortega herself delved into her scenes with the hand’s owner in an interview with Screen Rant. She said Dorobantu’s hand was fitted with a wrist-like prosthetic on top to give off the illusion of Thing standing upright like a living creature.
On occasions Dorobantu wasn’t around to play Thing, Ortega said she would talk to thin air, and the crew would later bring in gray and silver balls, along with a color chart, to CGI the hand.
In spite of the hand’s brutal scars, Thing has proven to be quite the softie. He grooms himself with nicely-scented hand lotion, enjoys the occasional manicure, and jumps at the opportunity to play cupid for Wednesday. It’s little wonder he’s a favorite with fans. Who says you need a gorgeous face—or just a face, for that matter—to make audiences fall in love with you?
absolutely obsessed that this is how they filmed thing in wednesday on netflix pic.twitter.com/MFjdF5FK9J
— Nora Dominick (@noradominick) November 26, 2022
[via Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Screen Rant, BuzzFeed, images via various sources]
