Even though Jenna Ortega is the star of recent Tim Burton projects like Wednesday and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, that doesn’t mean she’s earned every role she auditioned for with the celebrated filmmaker.
In fact, the actor sat down with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice co-star Michael Keaton as part of GQ’s Epic Conversation series, and she reminisced about an audition for a Burton project that she failed to get. The role was in Burton’s 2019 live-action adaptation of Dumbo, a film that also stars Keaton and which was the director’s return to the industry after a three-year absence. Per Ortega’s statement:
“I remember auditioning for
Dumbo
. I actually auditioned for
Dumbo
. I was like fourteen or something like that, and I was so excited. I couldn’t believe that Tim was making a movie; it had been a minute. I was like, ‘Ah man, this would just be an incredible opportunity.
I was very used to being told no. Like, you know, because they tell actors don’t have, you know, feel some type of way about that. But I remember
Dumbo
being one that for weeks, I was just gutted, and I thought, ‘Oh, like, what if I never get the opportunity to work with him again?'”
Check out the full conversation below:
Jenna Ortega Is an Important Modern Scream Queen
Ortega, one of modern cinema’s most prominent actors, is going through an awesome run. Not only is her future dotted with promising projects, but she’s one of the stars of Burton’s glorious return to the Hollywood spotlight with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the 2024 sequel to the 1989 horror comedy classic. She will also reprise her role as Wednesday Addams in the upcoming second season of the highly successful Netflix show. Other future projects include Death of a Unicorn, Klara and the Sun, and a still-untitled film by Trey Edward Shults.
At 21 years old, Ortega is becoming one of Hollywood’s top young performers. She had a brief role in the MCU in Iron Man 3, but early on she showed horror was her thing: a small role in Insidious: Chapter 2 was a sign of things to come. There’s no denying Ortega has a certain knack for weird and unconventional roles. Her recent participation in noteworthy horror films has deemed her a consideration for being a modern scream queen.
Check out her already impressive list of horror performances below:
Title
Year of Release
The Babysitter: Killer Queen
2020
Scream
2022
Studio 666
2022
X
2022
American Carnage
2022
Wednesday (TV)
2022
Scream VI
2023
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
2024
You can catch Jenna Ortega in
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,
now playing exclusively in theaters.
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