Christina Ricci recalls defining moment she decided to be an actress

Christina Ricci, who famously played Wednesday Addams in the 1991 and 1993 Addams Family movies, knew early on that she would take up acting.

In the recent episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, Ricci detailed the defining moment that set her on her career path.

“I was in second grade, and they brought in sheets of lines and stuff into music class, and they said, ‘We’re putting on a Christmas pageant, and here’s the pageant we’re doing, and read these lines.'”

The Yellowjackets actress said the moment she read the lines and started participating, she realised she knew how to do it.

“I know exactly what he wants, and this kid over here can’t do it.’ In that moment, I felt like I had found my thing.” Ricci added, “I just had a shorthand into understanding what was needed to do that work as a kid.”

During that Christmas play, she was discovered by a local critic. After that she went on to make some of the hit films of her career, including her debut in 1990’s Mermaids and in 1991 she played the iconic role.

The Now and Then star talked about being lucky on knowing what to do since young age, noting, “you do see people who are lost and just have no idea what their special thing is, and that’s very sad.”

She said that as a parent she fears the same thing happening to her children Freddie and Cleopatra.

Ricci explained her fears saying that one has to “think about all the pitfalls.” Sharing her desire for children, she wished that they figure out what they want to be in young age because “it’s such a relief, and I really have seen how lucky I was to find it so early.”