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When I watched the first season of Wednesday, I was blown away by Jenna Ortega’s performance and I genuinely thought “wow, where did she come from?” I truly didn’t realize that Ortega has been acting since she was a little kid and that I’d already seen her a dozen times before then. Part of that is because Wednesday Addams is such a specific character and look, but there is a shapeshifter element to Ortega, plus she has an “every woman” quality which… is going to give her a lot of career longevity. Jenna is promoting Scream VI, her second time in the (rebooted) franchise. She covers Elle and this is very much a “star is born” introductory piece given the overwhelming success of Wednesday. Some highlights:
Music is her preferred language. “I listen to absolutely anything. I know everyone says that but sometimes I’ll listen to stuff that I don’t even think is good because I just need to understand.”
She works constantly: “From ‘Action’ to ‘Cut’ is the only reason I like my job,” she says. Between those two directions, she says, “It’s like I pass the f–k out.”
The ‘Scream’ franchise: “I have so much respect for the franchise that I didn’t want to do it wrong. I wanted to do it justice, but I also didn’t want to be ripping anybody off.” In this movie, for the first time, Neve Campbell won’t reprise her role as Sidney Prescott. Campbell walked away, she told Variety, due to a salary negotiation that she felt undervalued her contribution as star of the 25-year-old franchise. “It was really unfortunate,” Ortega says of Campbell’s absence, “especially because Neve is the coolest, sweetest, most talented lady. The franchise wouldn’t be what it is without her.”
Ortega is naturally introverted. “If I want to make films so badly and I want to play characters or I want to direct and write film scores, I could do that all in my backyard. I don’t have to be doing it on a grand scale like this. But ultimately, all the other side stuff that comes with my job, sometimes it makes it feel like it’s almost not worth it. I don’t want to feel like a walking billboard, which is a really, really scary feeling because then you feel less and less in control of your life. I feel like I’ve seen a lot of people or know people who have succumbed to that pressure. I don’t want to belong to anyone or anything.”
Seeing ‘Man on Fire’ with Denzel & Dakota Fanning changed her life: “I was happy sitting and dissecting that movie over and over again. I couldn’t fathom how someone so young could do something that would scare me so aggressively. But I also loved the way that it made me feel. I decided that’s what I was passionate about.”
Her mom would drive her to auditions from northern California: “To do that four to five days a week and still raise your other children was absurd. My family made a lot of sacrifices.” The prospect of building her career was exciting—and daunting. “It was the guilt of, Okay, well if this doesn’t work out, I’m screwed, I guess. I just put my entire family through this because that’s a lot of money and time that we did not have.”
Is she really this dark horror/Wednesday person? “I feel very conflicted in what I’m interested in or what I’m passionate about, because there’s apart of me that always feels like the girl in the Coachella Valley.”
She doesn’t like traditional rom-coms: “I hate being googoogaga over a boy. I think it’s secretly a pride thing. It’s a problem with a lot of female characters, that a lot of them are guy oriented or what they’re expressing or emoting is based on a guy’s position and a guy’s story.”
She’s not Dating: “Maybe I am too obsessed with my work, but the idea of Relationships stresses me out. And also being that vulnerable with someone and having to get to know someone that well and having someone see you for all that you are… My brain knows that I don’t need to think about that right now.”
She comes across as charismatically neurotic, if you know what I mean? Like, she’s not burdened by deep neurosis, she’s just a young working-class woman who buries herself in work so she doesn’t have to figure out her own sh-t. She’s 20 – that sounds completely normal, especially given her talent and given “hustle culture.” I’m actually surprised she hasn’t done “more” already with her sudden fame from Wednesday, and that probably speaks to her inherent discomfort with the trappings of the industry. She just seems like “I don’t want to f–k this up, I want to keep working.” She will.
Cover & IG courtesy of Elle.
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