🐱 Wednesday’s Gomez Addams Casting Controversy Explained – Is He Accurate?

https://screenrant.com/wednesday-gomez-addams-actor-look-appearance-controversy/

https://archive.ph/VXTle

First-look images of Tim Burton's Wednesday reveal Luis Guzman as Gomez Addams, but the casting choice is getting an unfounded amount of criticism.


Luis Guzmán stars as Gomez Addams in Tim Burton’s Wednesday series, but whether the actor's appearance is an accurate look for the role is a source of contention. After originally being eyed to direct the 1990s Addams Familymovies, Tim Burton is finally tackling the cooky characters in Netflix’s Wednesday. After debuting in a 1938 New Yorker cartoon, the Addams Familycharacters rose to popularity through a 1960s black-and-white sitcom. The show was later followed by the live-action movies The Addams Family and Addams Family Values, then a recent pair of animated films, and now Burton’s Wednesday-focused TV show.

Wednesday stars Scream's Jenny Ortega as the title character. The coming-of-age series follows Wednesday Addams as a high schooler at Nevermore Academy, where she’ll master her psychic powers and solve a supernatural mystery related to her own family. The cast additionally includes Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley, Victor Dorobantu as Thing, George Burcea as Lurch, and Luis Guzmán as Gomez. Ever since images were released of the actors appearing in costume for Wednesday, there has been a divisive response to Guzmán’s Gomez Addams casting.

Luis Guzmán is the third actor to tackle a major studio's live-action portrayal of Gomez Addams, following John Astin in the 1960s sitcom and Raúl Juliá in the 1990s movies. The previous live-action Gomezes shared a similar look, which has led some to perceive Guzmán as a strange casting choice. Despite a surface difference, though, Wednesday’s casting of Guzmán is actually an exciting choice, and the new character design is completely accurate to the original cartoons – more so than Astin and Juliá. The depiction of Gomez in the Netflix series also reflects that of the animated movies from 2019 and 2021, which used Charles Addams's original cartoons as inspiration rather than the 1960s show and 1990s movies.

Why Gomez’s Casting Is Perfect For Wednesday​

Outside of Luis Guzmán simply being a brilliant casting choice, Wednesday’s Gomez Addams appearing with a physically different characterization from the previous actors is a great way for Tim Burton's Addams Family showto avoid incessant comparisons to past live-action adaptations. Burton isn’t trying to make his own version of the 1990s duology, and distinct casting choices do better to get this point across to audiences. By using the original cartoons as inspiration for the character designs, Burton’s Wednesday offers a brand-new yet still familiar take on the beloved Addams Family characters that live-action adaptations have yet to depict.

Luis Guzmán also brings a significant charisma of his own to the screen, which will still elicit the lusty dynamic between Gomez and Morticia that every Addams Family adaptation has highlighted. The hairpiece atop Gomez's head in Wednesdaymay look more bizarre than Astin and Juliá’s take on the character, but it’s the most faithful to the source material that a live-action Addams Familyadaptation has ever been. Rather than another iteration of the Gomez and Morticia Addams that has been done several times before, Guzmán and Zeta-Jones will brilliantly bring to life the original vision for the iconic morbid married couple.

 

[Bogliacci]

he looks like a goblin

 

[Dysnomia]

he looks like a goblin

Well I guess Guzman is supposed to resemble the comic version. Which he does in a way. But it just doesn't work on film. John Astin and Raul Julia had that suave appeal. Guzman is just a fat goblin looking guy. Maybe he'll play the part well. But he looks so miscast. So hopefully his acting makes up for it.

A lot of people are familiar with Christina Ricci's Wednesday, which was partly inspired by Winona Ryder's Lydia from Beetlejuice. I hope that they don't deviate too much from that because it was perfect.

In b4 a bunch of stupid people name their kids Wednesday. I imagine there will be a lot of black cats named Wednesday. Because black cats are so goth.

 

[Bakarina]

In b4 a bunch of stupid people name their kids Wednesday. I imagine there will be a lot of black cats named Wednesday. Because black cats are so goth.

I already know plenty of little girls running around with the name Wednesday. Every time I run in to a new one I ask her parents about the 6 other children I assume they have.

Also, if giving a stupid name to a black cat keeps them out of the shelter and into a loving home I count it as a win.

 

[sasazuka]

His face appears to be largely prosthetic anyway and is indeed more accurate to the comics than any previous live-action portrayal so I don't see a problem.

Luis Guzmán is the third actor to tackle a major studio's live-action portrayal of Gomez Addams, following John Astin in the 1960s sitcom and Raúl Juliá in the 1990s movies.

I see that Glenn Taranto, who portrayed Gomez Addams for 65 episodes (one episode more than even John Astin, although that's not including cameos Astin made in character as Gomez Addams in other shows) in the 1990s New Addams Family live-action TV show, is completely forgotten.

 

[RodgerDodger]

To be fair Guzman does look quite a bit like the Charles Adams original source material.

Moreso than either John Astin or Raul Julia. Prior live action incarnations always played Gomez as more Castilian. But no reason not to go more North, central or South American Latino. I always imagined Gomez from the comics as Cuban.

 

[XYZpdq]

yeah the weird fat face was kind of a thing that got dropped outside the comics

 

[dry roasted]

He's too old.

Christina Ricci was Wednesday 30 years ago and he's old enough to play HER dad.

 

[JohnDoe]

Moreso than either John Astin or Raul Julia. Prior live action incarnations always played Gomez as more Castilian. But no reason not to go more North, central or South American Latino. I always imagined Gomez from the comics as Cuban.

Really? I thought the continental influence of Old Spain was always extremely strong. From the old world decor of the house, Gomez's dress, and of course the traditional family folk dances with the heavy doses of flamenco.

 

[Kramer on the phone]

he looks like a goblin

all mutts do. its the human version of mixing the colors together in an egg dying kit.

people forget that the comic is so old that the addams are just a joke about white catholic immigrants. Prots especially at the time viewed the concepts of the catholic church and their design with the same horror as spiders or other monsters. there were even huge publications warning about these irish people who drink blood and eat peoples bodies every week and their pale skin and macabre nature proving they're not normal.

obviously people only associate it with the spanish (castillain) now, but much like how all latinos are the same now, people put the Irish, French,Spanish, and italians all in the same category.

people also don't seem to realize that if you truely do believe in god, a cult that you know eats peoples bodies and drinks their blood every week and are led by a shadowy organization that can bring people back from the dead whose followers genuinely believe every sin from child rape and murder to robbery can be forgiven by god after a few simple prayers and your entire knowledge of modern western history is about them truely embracing such a belief. you'd probably associate them with the sort of horrors the addams family embodies. especially back in the 1940s, when the most normal among them rule every cities criminal enterprises and are responsible for the murders in every criminal headline.

if anything it truely shows how strong the american dream is, to go from being the addams family to camelot in the publics minds in a few decades.

 

[Illumithotty]

The other origin story of the Addams Family I've heard is that they're supposed to be a parody of age old stereotypes of executioner families. That all those people trusted with putting the axe down or knotting ropes generally kept to themselves and were well paid but socially ostracized so they kept to themselves.

Aside from that, I'd like a nice new take on the Addams family. Hopefully it has that wholesome, gothic but family orientated feel of the original. It was absolutely crushing to me that the idealized family I kept in mind was ruined by Anjelica Huston being one of Polanski's ardent defenders. It's absolutely laughable now but at the time, the Addams Family was one of those things that made it feel like being weird isn't a death sentence, that it's okay to be different. And then it turns out that Morticia loves it when disturbed kykes rape little girls, so a foundational fairy tale from my youth is now absolute poison.

 

[heathercho]

Raul Julia was an incredibly sexy man, he could play anything because of his charm. But this guy looks like a good choice, tbh.

 

[Haramburger]

Raul Julia was an incredibly sexy man, he could play anything because of his charm. But this guy looks like a good choice, tbh.

You know what, it's not a NIGGER as Netfix is known to do. Was this their galaxy brain play, to fuck up a bunch of other series so that I'd settle with a sigh and say "okay, Luis kind of fits I guess, it sort of fits the source material way way back"? Did no one else show up to audition? I just don't know anymore. Fuck.

 

[9Style]

So everyones hispanic now?

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

We're getting upset over The Adams Family reboot now?

 

[EnemyStand]

My only real problem is you can tell his hair is an awful, awful wig. It ruins the immersion for me.

 

[Daddy's Little Kitten]

El goblino.

He's a good actor though.

 

[kadoink]

The hair just doesn't work with him, all they gotta do is slick it back like Raul Julia's and leave it at that. He's a perfectly capable actor and is a lot of fun to watch.

Too bad this show looks like shit and some asshole is trying to turn it into Harry Potter meets the current year Sabrina series.

 

[cactus]

I know him to play an ugly, fat man, but that's it. That wig isn't even accurate. But last I checked, Wednesday doesn't have any powers, none of the family really did, also the girl playing her is too pretty. I was already turned off by the school aspect, this just cements my decision.

 

[Cuckoman]

So what the fuck is twitter upset about this time?
It is his skin color, right? He is too light skinned, right? That is the problem?
(the article was light on what the actual problem it, thus it must be something real obvious, like skin color problem)