Jenna Ortega Considered Leaving Acting Before Landing Her Role in “You”
Despite her status as one of Hollywood’s most prominent young stars, Jenna Ortega nearly stepped away from acting after her role on Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle.
The Emmy nominee disclosed that her experience from 2016 to 2018 left her contemplating retirement, but landing the role of Ellie Alves in Season 2 of Netflix’s You changed her perspective. She realized, “there’s no way” she could give it up.
In a recent appearance on Kid Cudi’s podcast, Big Bro, Ortega shared, “I didn’t know what else I was gonna do. I’ve never really considered anything else—more-so recently, just out of sake of curiosity and wanting another life experience. But when I was a teenager, I’d gotten off a children’s show, and I didn’t know what I was going to do. I had to prove myself and meet all these new casting directors who didn’t know who I was.”
Reflecting on that challenging time, Ortega noted, “It just felt like a good time to call it quits if I was going to. I was starting high school, and, ‘it was a good run’ sort of thing. We had talked about it for a few months with my team. And then, I think I booked that show You, and then I went on that set and I loved it and had the best time. I thought, ‘Yeah, there’s no way I could let this go.’”
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In Season 2 of You, Joe Goldberg, portrayed by Penn Badgley, relocates from New York to Los Angeles to escape his violent past. His interactions with downstairs neighbor Ellie (Ortega) complicate his attempts to start anew.
Penn Badgley and Jenna Ortega in ‘You’ (Beth Dubber/Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Since then, Ortega has achieved success with roles in the Scream franchise, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Death of a Unicorn, and as the titular character in Netflix’s Wednesday. She also appeared alongside Cudi in the 2022 slasher film X.
Ortega’s upcoming project includes The Gallerist, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and features Natalie Portman.
