Wednesday has just returned for its second season – topping Netflix’s global top 10 series charts since its August 6 release – and among its returning cast is Moosa Mostafa, the British actor of Arab heritage who plays Eugene Ottinger.
Mostafa, 17, from Leamington Spa, central England, has become a fan favourite thanks to Ottinger’s bright, good-natured personality, which stands in stark contrast to the show’s darker themes. But behind the scenes, Mostafa has been balancing the demands of starring in one of Netflix’s most popular series with the everyday pressures of schoolwork and exams.
Early life and career
Born on February 25, 2008, Mostafa attends Warwick Boys School. His mother, Rima, has supported his acting career from the start. Some reports suggest his parents are Egyptian and lived in Dubai before moving to the UK.
His first screen role came in the 2018 festive comedy Nativity Rocks!. Still at school, he was spotted by Netflix casting directors during auditions for the sci-fi series The Last Bus, a role that eventually led to him being cast in Wednesday.
“It was insane – all of a sudden you’re flying to Romania for seven months to work with Tim Burton,” he told BBC CWR. “I was like, where’s this even come from?”
He was 13 during the filming of Wednesday’s first season, making him the youngest cast member by several years. “Everyone was at least five years older than me, but I was just hanging out with them all. So now we’re just a group of friends who happen to work together,” he said.
What is Wednesday?
Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and produced by Tim Burton, the show follows Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) during her time at Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for outcasts. Mixing gothic mystery, teenage relationships and dark humour, the first season broke Netflix viewership records in 2022.
Season two, filmed in Dublin, brings new characters – including Steve Buscemi as Nevermore’s principal Barry Dort – and has already been renewed for a third season.
Who is Eugene Ottinger?
Ottinger is a Nevermore student and president of the school’s beekeeping club. He is one of Wednesday’s few close friends. Mostafa describes his character as a contrast to the tone of the series.
“He’s very fun to play,” he told the BBC. “He’s the juxtaposition to a lot of what else happens in the show. He’s very cheery and bright compared to the dark sad themes and melancholy stuff going on. I think it’s nice that on screen he has a contrast to Wednesday, specifically, so it’s really fun to play that with Jenna.”
Balancing act
Filming for season two took place during Mostafa’s GCSE exams in 2024. Delays to the filming schedule meant he travelled frequently between Ireland and Warwickshire. He often revised for exams in hotel rooms.
Mostafa said Buscemi offered him encouragement with his studies. “Before the exams he was telling me, ‘Make sure you do those past papers.' And he tried to give me revision tests,” Mostafa said. “It was his own little way. The cast were very close.”
His mother praised her son for coping with the challenging schedule. “It wasn’t quite what we anticipated, but we rolled with it and Moosa managed it really well," she said. He’s learnt a lot about managing work-life balance, and I think he’s hugely matured and learnt these life skills at a much younger age than a lot of his peers would get a chance to. That in itself has been really admirable, so we’re really proud of him.”
Mostafa added that returning to Leamington Spa between filming helped him to stay grounded. “I still get the perfect amount of normality from my friends, despite all the craziness,” he said.
