Jenna Ortega has revealed that, as a young actress, she spent entire days on set without asking for food or water because she was determined not to cause inconvenience to anyone around her.
In a recent interview with Esquire, the 23-year-old reflected on her early career, acknowledging that her dedication to work sometimes came at the expense of her own well-being.
Ortega said she neglected herself on set
When asked about a rookie mistake she made on her first set, Ortega initially struggled to identify one. She said, “I really had it going for me as a child ‘cause I can’t think of one mistake I made. Is that a terrible thing to say? I feel like I make mistakes now all the time, but as a child, I was so grateful and so excited to be there that my game face was on.”
However, this mindset led her to avoid requesting basic necessities at work, which she now views as a mistake.
She explained, “I wasn’t asking for a sip of water. I would go all day without eating, drinking, whatever, because I wanted so badly to not be in the way of anybody. Maybe that was my mistake… not actually looking after myself.”
Ortega knew she wanted to act from a young age
Ortega also traced her commitment to acting back to childhood, recalling that she first told her parents she wanted to become an actress at age seven. This announcement marked the start of her long-term determination.
“My parents laughed at me when I told them that I wanted to do it, and then that was kind of the root of everything. The motivation. And I never really stopped, because I’m very stubborn. And then I never questioned it,” Ortega told the outlet.
Ortega weighed in on child actor stereotypes
When asked if there was a stereotype about child actors she wished to correct, Ortega responded, “Is it wrong to say that a lot of them are true? And do with that what you will.”
Ortega began her professional career at age nine with the 2012 sitcom Rob. She later appeared in Insidious: Chapter 2 and Iron Man 3 in 2013. From 2014 to 2019, she was part of Jane the Virgin, and her credits also include Stuck in the Middle (2016–2018) and the 2015 series Richie Rich. She subsequently joined Netflix’s You and Wednesday.
Dakota Fanning inspired her early on
Reflecting on her childhood influences, Ortega shared with Esquire that she greatly admired fellow child actress Dakota Fanning.
“As a young girl, to see a young girl with so much, it felt like wisdom, like she had lived and walked this planet many times before. And she kind of taught me what an actor even was when I was a kid,” she stated.