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Jenna Ortega has opened up about the pressures she experienced as a young actor, revealing that she would sometimes spend an entire day on set without eating or drinking because she was determined not to inconvenience anyone.
The Wednesday star discussed her early career in an interview with Esquire, reflecting on how grateful she was to have opportunities as a child and how that gratitude shaped the way she behaved on set.
"I really had it going for me as a child 'cause I can't think of one mistake I made," Ortega said. She explained that she was eager to prove herself and maintained what she described as her "game face."
"I wasn't asking for a sip of water," she recalled. "I would go all day without eating, drinking, whatever, because I wanted so badly to not be in the way of anybody."
Looking back at that period, Ortega, now 23, acknowledged that her determination to avoid being a burden sometimes came at her own expense.
"Maybe that was my mistake, was not actually looking after myself," she said.
Ortega began pursuing acting at just seven years old. She recalled telling her parents that she wanted to become an actor, only for them to initially laugh at the idea. Their reaction, however, did not discourage her.
"That was kind of the root of everything. The motivation," she said, explaining that she continued pursuing acting because she was "very stubborn" and never questioned her decision.
Her early credits included appearances in Iron Man 3, Days of Our Lives, CSI: NY, Jane the Virgin, You and Richie Rich. She later gained wider recognition through Disney Channel's Stuck in the Middle before becoming internationally known for playing Wednesday Addams in Netflix's Wednesday.
Ortega also reflected on the reputation surrounding child stars, offering a candid response when asked about the stereotypes associated with growing up in the entertainment industry.
"Is it wrong to say that a lot of them are true? And do with that what you will," she said.
The actress credited fellow child star Dakota Fanning with influencing her early understanding of acting. Ortega said that, as a young girl, she viewed Fanning as someone who appeared to possess unusual wisdom and described her as someone who "taught me what an actor even was when I was a kid."
