# Owen Painter

**Owen Painter** (born 1997) is an American actor from West Hartford, Connecticut, best known for playing the zombie Slurp, who is revealed as Isaac Night, in the second season of Netflix's *[Wednesday](https://www.edgepedia.org/wednesday-tv-series)*.<sup>[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/owen-painter/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11847854/)</sup> His earlier screen credits include Young Lucas in Hulu's *[Tiny Beautiful Things](https://www.edgepedia.org/tiny-beautiful-things)* and a guest role in *The Handmaid's Tale*.<sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11847854/)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1997, West Hartford, Connecticut<sup>[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/owen-painter/)</sup> |
| Training | BFA in Screen Acting, Chapman University, graduated 2020<sup>[3](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/owen-painter.html)</sup> |
| Breakout role | Slurp / Isaac Night in *Wednesday* season 2 (Netflix, 2025), 8 episodes<sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11847854/)</sup> |
| Earlier roles | Young Lucas in *Tiny Beautiful Things* (2023, 7 episodes); Jaden in *The Handmaid's Tale* (2022, 1 episode); Young Lawrence in the short film *Soup* (2021)<sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11847854/)</sup> |
| 2026 work | Matt Kellner in *The Shards* (2026), 5 episodes<sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11847854/)</sup> |
| Physical profile | 6′ 2″ (1.88 m)<sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11847854/)</sup> |

## Early life and training
Painter trained in screen performance at [Chapman University](https://www.edgepedia.org/chapman-university), graduating with a BFA in Screen Acting in 2020.<sup>[3](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/owen-painter.html)</sup> According to Netflix's Tudum feature, he started acting as a teenager, taking roles in high school productions of musicals such as *Hairspray* as well as plays by [Anton Chekhov](https://www.edgepedia.org/anton-chekhov) and [William Shakespeare](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-shakespeare).<sup>[4](https://cdn.nflxext.com/tudum/features/who-is-slurp-owen-painter-interview)</sup> His first listed screen credit is the short film *Soup* (2021), in which he played Young Lawrence.<sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11847854/)</sup>

He has described the period after graduating into the COVID-19 pandemic as difficult: he made self-tapes from his parents' house and, before leaving for filming in Dublin, was driving trucks for commercial shoots and delivering [Uber Eats](https://www.edgepedia.org/uber-eats) to make ends meet. "My mind wasn't on acting at all," he told *V Magazine*.<sup>[5](https://vman.com/article/vmen-owen-painter-steps-out-of-the-shadows-in-wednesday-season-2/)</sup>

## Wednesday (2025)

**The audition.** Painter's path to *Wednesday* began with a self-tape audition prompt with no dialogue: "You've been asleep for a thousand years, you can't speak, and there's a glass of water across the room that can restore your voice." He spent a couple of hours on physical comedy for the tape, doing what he called [Charlie Chaplin](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-chaplin) and [Buster Keaton](https://www.edgepedia.org/buster-keaton) style gags, which led to a three-minute Zoom callback with the show's producers, including [Tim Burton](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-burton) and Jenna Ortega.<sup>[5](https://vman.com/article/vmen-owen-painter-steps-out-of-the-shadows-in-wednesday-season-2/)</sup>

**Slurp and Isaac Night.** In the season 2 premiere, Painter appears as Slurp, a zombie brought back to life when [Pugsley Addams](https://www.edgepedia.org/pugsley-addams) discovers his newfound electrical powers; the character feeds on human brains to regenerate and eventually evolves into his true identity, Isaac Night, formerly [Gomez Addams](https://www.edgepedia.org/gomez-addams)'s roommate, Tyler Galpin's uncle, and, in a final twist, the original owner of the severed hand known as [Thing](https://www.edgepedia.org/thing-the-addams-family), "Night" being an anagram of the word.<sup>[5](https://vman.com/article/vmen-owen-painter-steps-out-of-the-shadows-in-wednesday-season-2/)</sup> Season 2 premiered in two parts, the first on 6 August 2025 and the second on 3 September 2025.<sup>[6](https://www.numeronetherlands.com/in-conversation-with/in-conversation-with-owen-painter)</sup>

The role was physically demanding. Painter told *Wonderland* that on his first day of shooting, coming out of a tree, roughly 11 hours of makeup had been applied, and that most days required similar prosthetic sessions, which he compared to a sensory deprivation tank; he used the time to reread the scripts.<sup>[7](https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2025/09/26/owen-painter-wednesday/)</sup> In the season 2 finale, his character fights Thing, a scene he prepared for by covertly studying Victor Dorobantu's physical performance as Thing on set.<sup>[8](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/how-do-prepare-fight-wednesday-thing-owen-painter-how-planned-battle-own-hand)</sup> Numéro Netherlands described him as the breakout star of the season.<sup>[6](https://www.numeronetherlands.com/in-conversation-with/in-conversation-with-owen-painter)</sup>

## Earlier screen work
In Hulu's *Tiny Beautiful Things* (2023), Painter played Young Lucas across 7 episodes of the limited series starring [Kathryn Hahn](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathryn-hahn).<sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11847854/)</sup> In 2022 he appeared as Jaden in a single episode of *The Handmaid's Tale*, season 5 episode "Fairytale".<sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11847854/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/360008/owen-painter)</sup> In interviews he has credited the people he worked with on these supporting roles, saying he thinks daily about things he learned from Kathryn Hahn and [Merritt Wever](https://www.edgepedia.org/merritt-wever).<sup>[6](https://www.numeronetherlands.com/in-conversation-with/in-conversation-with-owen-painter)</sup>

## The Shards and later work
Painter plays Matt Kellner in *[The Shards](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-shards-tv-series)* (2026), appearing in 5 episodes.<sup>[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11847854/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/360008/owen-painter)</sup> Outside acting, he has said he would like to be a teacher someday and has expressed interest in working on stage.<sup>[6](https://www.numeronetherlands.com/in-conversation-with/in-conversation-with-owen-painter)</sup>

## References

1. [Owen Painter, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/owen-painter/)
2. [Owen Painter (II), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11847854/)
3. [Owen Painter, Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/owen-painter.html)
4. [Who Is Isaac Night? Wednesday Star Owen Painter Explains Slurp, Thing Connection, Netflix Tudum](https://cdn.nflxext.com/tudum/features/who-is-slurp-owen-painter-interview)
5. [VMEN: Owen Painter Steps Out of the Shadows in 'Wednesday' Season 2, V Magazine](https://vman.com/article/vmen-owen-painter-steps-out-of-the-shadows-in-wednesday-season-2/)
6. [In Conversation with Owen Painter, Numéro Netherlands](https://www.numeronetherlands.com/in-conversation-with/in-conversation-with-owen-painter)
7. [Owen Painter Talks Wednesday Season 2, Wonderland](https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2025/09/26/owen-painter-wednesday/)
8. [How Do You Prepare To Fight Wednesday's Thing? Owen Painter Told Me How They Planned The Battle Against His Own Hand, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/how-do-prepare-fight-wednesday-thing-owen-painter-how-planned-battle-own-hand)
9. [Owen Painter, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/360008/owen-painter)

---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames P to Ph*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license
