Jenna Ortega recalls going all day without food, water on set as child actor
Los Angeles, August 12
Actress Jenna Ortega has recalled going to extreme lengths to avoid being a burden on film and television sets when she was a child actor, saying she would sometimes go an entire day without eating or drinking because she wanted to impress people around her, according to People.
Speaking in an interview, the 'Wednesday' star, was asked about a rookie mistake she made on her first set as a child actor. Ortega said she could not recall making many mistakes because she was extremely grateful and excited to be working.
"I really had it going for me as a child 'cause I can't think of one mistake I made," Ortega said. "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."
She added, "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," as quoted by People.
"Maybe that was my mistake, was not actually looking after myself," Ortega admitted.
Ortega began her acting career at a young age, starring in the sitcom 'Rob' when she was nine years old in 2012. She later appeared in films including 'Insidious: Chapter 2' and 'Iron Man 3' in 2013.
Her first major recurring television role came in 'Jane the Virgin', where she played the younger version of Gina Rodriguez's titular character from 2014 to 2019. She also starred as Harley Diaz in the Disney Channel sitcom 'Stuck in the Middle' from 2016 to 2018, according to People.
During the Esquire interview, Ortega was also asked whether she wanted to set the record straight about stereotypes surrounding child actors.
"Is it wrong to say that a lot of them are true? And do with that what you will," she said.
Ortega said she was only seven when she realised that she wanted to become an actor. She recalled that her parents initially laughed when she told them about her ambition, but their reaction became a motivation for her.
"My parents laughed at me when I told them that I wanted to do it, and then that kind of was the root of everything. The motivation. And I never really stopped, because I'm very stubborn. And then I never questioned it," she said.
The actress also spoke about one of her earliest creative influences, fellow former child actor 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 ... she kind of taught me what an actor even was when I was a kid," Ortega said.
Ortega has previously revealed that she considered leaving acting during her teenage years. After finishing a children's show, she was unsure about what would come next and faced the challenge of proving herself to new casting directors.
"When I was a teenager, I'd gotten off a children's show, and I didn't know what I was going to do," she said on Kid Cudi's 'Big Bro' podcast in April.
"I had to prove myself and meet all these new casting directors who didn't know who I was," she added.
Ortega said she was starting high school at the time and had discussed with her team whether it was the right moment to quit acting.
"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," she recalled.
Her decision changed after she landed the role of Ellie Alves in Netflix's psychological thriller 'You', alongside Penn Badgley. Ortega played the teenager in the show's second season, which aired in 2019, marking a move into more mature roles.
"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,'" she said.
Ortega was later cast as Wednesday Addams in Netflix's 'Wednesday' in 2021. The series was renewed for a third season in July 2025, even before its second season premiered, according to People.
She is next set to star as an artificial best friend in Taika Waititi's 'Klara and the Sun', an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's bestselling 2021 novel.
— ANI
Reader Comments
I admire her dedication but this is concerning. At 9 years old, she should have been looked after by adults. It's sad that children feel they need to prove themselves so much that they skip meals. This mindset is common in our culture too where kids are pushed to perform.
The fact that she said "many stereotypes about child actors are true" says a lot. The glamour industry is ruthless, be it Hollywood or Bollywood. Parents and guardians need to be more vigilant about their children's wellbeing on sets. Fame at that age comes with a heavy price.
Her parents laughing at her ambition became her motivation - that's so relatable for many of us in India where parents often dismiss creative dreams. Glad she proved them wrong and found success in 'Wednesday'! But the food and water part is genuinely worrying.
As someone who works in the film industry here in Mumbai, I can tell you this is a universal problem. Child actors are often treated as commodities. Ortega's story mirrors what many young artists face in India too. We need stricter labour laws and better on-set counsellors.
The pressure to "not be in the way" is something I've seen in our film industry as well. Children are often told to be seen and not heard on sets. Her honesty about considering quitting during her teenage years shows how tough this path really is. Respect to her for persevering. 👏
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