Posted in: Netflix, TV | Tagged: the addams family, wednesday

Wednesday: Lewis-Nyawo Discusses Being a Sheriff in Tim Burton's World

Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo (Back in Action) spoke with us about returning to The Addams Family spinoff series, Wednesday, for Season 2.

There isn't a shortage of those who can play authority figures like Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, but suffice it to say, it became a dream come true to do so under visionary director Tim Burton, who's build an empire of the dark and awkward, and his latest take is a spinoff of The Addams Family in Netflix's Wednesday. In the Jenna Ortega-starred series, Lewis-Nyawo plays Det. Ritchie Santiago, who is summoned, alongside Sheriff Donovan Galpin (Jamie McShane), to Nevermore to investigate the death of Ethan Hanson (James Clay) in season one. Their character gets more involved, the more Wednesday Addams reluctantly sleuths her way to a conspiracy that rocks Nevermore. Lewis-Nyawo spoke to Bleeding Cool about how they stumbled upon the series, working with Burton and showrunners Alfred Gough and Mark Millar, embracing their "normie" role, what they can tease for season two, and if there's anyone they fraternize with.

Wednesday Star Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo on Sheriff Deputy Ritchie Santiago's Journey to Season Two

How did you hear about 'Wednesday' when you were cast in 2022, and what intrigued you about playing Ritchie Santiago?

How did I hear about it? It was a real busy time. It was after the final waves of the pandemic were coming down in 2021-ish, and I remember doing a bunch of auditions at that time. I had two sheriff roles, like I had general sheriffs back-to-back. It's my shtick, and I didn't even notice. It was a blur, and getting them done. Several weeks later, I got an offer for an entirely different project. I was chatting with my agent, and he was like, "We're definitely taking the Tim Burton thing." I was like, "What?! Tim Burton thing?!" "The other offer you got." I'm like, "Oh, which one was that?"

[My agent's like,] "It's the sheriff." I said, "Phil, there's been three sheriffs, which one?!" [laughs]. I found out I got it. There was no recall process. It was the offer straight off to the first audition. It was weird because I did the casting with the same casting director, Sophie Holland, as the other projects I have booked. It was strange doing a recall with her for something entirely different, and then hearing I got this the very next day.

Before you start filming, were you already familiar with 'The Addams Family '?

Yeah, I was. I grew up in South Africa, and I have this distinct memory of having 'The Addams Family' (1992) cartoon on in the mornings. It was an animated show back in the day, and I used to love that. It played Saturday mornings back-to-back with a bunch of other classic cartoons, because it was still slightly sanctioned then. I still have fond memories of that show. Those characters have been with me for a long time, so it's exciting and great to be a part of this project.

Did it feel weird with the long layoff from seasons one and two, with the gaps in time and slipping back in after a while?

Not at all. The time gaps were sort of like precipitated by the (WGA and SAG-AFTRA) strikes, right? There was a big gap between this new season, where they want to push the story forward, adding new interesting characters, and focusing on that outcast kind of lore they have going on. It wasn't that hard to slip back, and I think Al, Miles, and Tim's world is so unique. I was reading the first four episodes when I got them was like, "Oh wow! We're back," and this feels like a real expansion on something already great.

What challenges could we expect from your character this upcoming season of 'Wednesday '?

Wednesday is going to get up to her usual antics [laughs]. She's going to be sleuthing and giving the law a hard time [laughs]. It's such an exciting show and such a great concept, having to straddle a normie and outcast world, figuring out how Santiago must balance all her responsibilities while constantly having to kind of chase Wednesday's tail with all these goings-on in Nevermore and in Jericho.

What's it like working with creatives and showrunners like Al and Miles?

They're great showrunners. They're hands-on, which is unusual, but that was exciting. Al has this astute eye for detail and knows what he wants. When he's working on something, we'll do several takes until he's happy, but I appreciate that. I come from the theater, so I don't mind the kind of repetition, and really like drilling down on something until you get it just right, because that's what the fans expect and deserve.

Is there anyone on set you usually hang around with from the cast?

I really got close with my deputy [laughs]. We got close because we spend a lot of time together, and we call ourselves the dream team. That was fun to work on. I also got close with Heather Matarazzo, who's great, warm, and open. I was grateful to have her on set as somebody who has done this before, has this old hat to them, and it was nice to have somebody to have to guide me through the process.

Season two of Wednesday, which also stars Emma Myers, Hunter Doohan, Joy Sunday, Georgie Farmer, Moosa Mostafa, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán, Isaac Ordonez, and Victor Dorobantu, premieres on August 6th with the first four episodes, with part two set to release on September 3rd.

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