- See, I like turning my dish around a few times
to see like - You gotta see where
the best part is? - What's the best
entry point here?
And it's like.
- I'm very, very happy. - Oh yeah.
- Hi, I'm Jenna Ortega.
- And I'm Luis Guzmán.
- I play Wednesday Adams in the series
"Wednesday" on Netflix.
- And I play her dad, Gomez.
My little death trap!
Seeing you with this uniform brings back
so many terrible memories, doesn't it, Ticia?
- Yes.
- I'm so excited to share this meal with my TV daughter,
while we catch up about the show and our culture.
So Jenna, you're half Puerto Rican and half Mexican
and I hear you brought some of your favorite tacos.
- This is something that was a huge deal
in my house growing up.
It was something that we did for every holiday.
It was really, really special.
Something that we kind of did together.
I'm also vegetarian, so I've got a bean mix.
- What was your part in the whole cooking process?
- I think I make the best guac in my family.
I love avocados. I'm very passionate about it.
I think the secret is a lot of lime.
- Okay, here we go.
Okay. - Yeah.
- I can do that. - And yeah,
sometimes you'd make it for like,
your siblings after school before they went to games
or soccer. - Now tell me about this guy.
- The simple term for him I think is Jim
and he's Puerto Rican as well.
- He Puerto? - Yeah.
And he just wanted to come and watch.
You do what the man says.
(woman laughs)
- So Jenna, I want to ask you,
how special it is for you, as a Latina,
to play a Latina?
- I think it's pretty special for me just
because growing up I didn't have a lot
of representation on screen.
I remember for my fifth birthday, I actually asked my mom
for a box of blonde hair dye
because I wanted to dye my hair blonde so
that I could look like Cinderella.
If you don't have someone that you could relate to
on screen or somebody that's telling your story,
it can be very discouraging.
To take someone like Wednesday who has
such a large platform, I think it's really important
for not only everyone to to see it,
but then also for young girls out there like me
that just want to be seen.
- I'm so proud of you for saying that.
- I know I'm stubborn, single-minded, and obsessive
but those are all traits of great writers.
Yes, and serial killers.
- What did you find most challenging about Wednesday?
- Maybe her emotional arc?
She doesn't show a lot of emotion
and I know people are really peculiar about that
and it's really hard when you take
such a nostalgic character for people
and do something else.
So I think that I kind of had to do a good balance
of keeping traits that people know and love about Wednesday
from the '90s, but then also slowly introducing
new reactions or new emotions or a different side
because you know with the show,
when you're spending eight hours with a character,
there has to be some sort of dimension.
A character's not gonna grow if they're one note
the entire time.
So you had to be able to switch it up
and know when it was right to do it
and when it was wrong.
Okay.
Pugsley.
You're soft and weak.
You'll never survive without me.
- In the filming of "Wednesday,"
what was your fondest memory?
- Shooting with you. - Oh yeah!
- I also really, really loved any time
that there was a big cast around
because a lot of the show like me just speaking with Thing,
so it's nice to interact and play off of other people.
And you like to improvise, you're doing all sorts of things,
and that keeps it exciting and I feel like oftentimes,
you get the best result that way.
- I'm proud to hear that.
- Since you've abandoned me here, I've been hunted, haunted,
and the target of an attempted murder.
- Ah, Nevermore, I love you so!
- So Luis. - Yes.
- You're a proud Puerto Rican. - Uh huh.
- Do you have a favorite dish
and is it the one that's sitting in front of us now?
- It most likely is the one sitting in front of us.
This is arroz con habichuelas
Rice and beans, I got pork chop here,
and I got what's called "amarillos"
which are like yellow bananas,
fried up. - Love, love.
I'm gonna try it. - Ooh.
See, I like turning my dish around a few times
to see like - You gotta see where
the best part is? - What's the best
entry point here?
And I'm gonna go right here and just see.
And it's like
- I'm very, very happy. - Oh yeah.
There she is.
Oh, how we missed those accusing eyes and youthful sneer.
- So Luis, you're a legend in Hollywood.
How would you say that Gomez,
where would you rank him in your career?
- Oh man, I would rank Gomez, at this point,
in my top three. - Really?
- Yeah, because you know,
I grew up as a kid watching "The Addams Family,"
and then I saw the movie,
and it had Raul Julia, who's also
- Puerto Rican. - Puertorriquena.
And to get that call that day from Tim Burton saying,
"Would you be Gomez?"
I still get goosebumps, I mean,
it's something that you grew up with
and all of a sudden it's like, "Wow, you're there doing it."
But really what I loved about it, besides just being Gomez,
this was written so well for us.
I was just so, so, so proud to be this Gomez character.
- What did you intentionally bring
to this role to make it your own?
- Just being very loving, very passionate,
and very caring because I think that's a big part of Gomez.
He's not just this funny guy, you know?
He's a very loving individual.
Fret not, my (indistinct) Cupid.
I'm sure she's dying to see us.
- One of the most admirable qualities about
the Addams family, or why so many people love them so much,
is 'cause they're the healthiest family in America.
They're very, very close
and they care about each other a lot.
And though they bully each other and push each other around,
it's very clear that they would do anything for each other.
And I also feel like that's very similar to Latin families.
- Yeah. - Me and my family,
we talked so much trash,
but if someone was gonna say something to my brother
during recess, all of us would kind of line up
and gang up and we're ready to-
- Yeah, it's like, "Wait." - Ready to go.
Yeah. - "What you say?
Say that again, see what happens."
- Yeah, yeah. Family is everything.
- Yeah. - And I think, you know,
the Addams feel the same way.
- As much as that stings,
gracias, my little death trap.
- I think it was really cool
that Netflix made it a point to cast Latinos
and they kind of weren't having it any other way.
Which is really, really important.
- Yeah, no it's really important because,
I think that we as Latinos, we are a big driving force
in the entertainment industry
and I think it's more important, more than ever,
that we as artists get more exposure.
'Cause we don't only watch novelas, people.
- That part. - Right? Ha.
- But we do do that, too.
We shot a lot together.
- Yes. - Is there a scene of ours
that stood out to you,
or you look back on really fondly?
- The scene when we were in the car
and your mother and I were singing.
♪ The magic night ♪
♪ I softly say ♪
- You guys killed that
and it was also one of the first things
that we did together. - That's right.
You were so spot on because it was like,
we were pretty dreadful singing the song,
but it was just so much love between your mom
and I and- - Yeah,
you guys were very passionate.
You guys are making me nauseous.
Not in a good way.
So you've been in the industry for a very long time.
Do you have any advice for me?
- Like I always say to people, you know, say to you,
stay humble because that just shows
the worthiness of your character and who you are.
- Very wise words.
- I appreciate you. - I appreciate you, too.
- Thanks for being my Taste Bud buddy today.
- Anytime. - That was great.
- Literally call me whenever.
Let us know in the comments what you'll be eating
while you watch "Wednesday," which is now on Netflix.
- And if you want, please,
send us your recipes. - That part.