Jenna Ortega Spilled Her Worst Audition Story, but There’s a Twist
Anyone who’s watched Wednesday can attest that Jenna Ortega has some great acting skills. The talented 20-year-old managed to reimagine an iconic character for a new generation. But just because Ortega is a gifted thespian doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a few audition horror stories like any other actor. The California native once reflected on her worst audition which left her in tears.
Jenna Ortega typically memorizes lines well due to her photographic memory
For most actors, memorizing lines for an audition is par for the course. Fortunately, this is a skill that comes pretty easily to Ortega. The Fallout actor has shared that she has a bit of a photographic memory, and thus she’s able to commit her lines to memory pretty quickly. Unfortunately, the lines got the better of her during her worst audition. While speaking with InStyle, Ortega recalled her audition horror story.
The actor reflects on her worst audition story
“Oh my god, worst I’ve ever had … I don’t know why [I kept messing up] — I knew the lines,” Ortega remembered. “I think I was just nervous because it was a job I wanted and there was this long monologue that I was supposed to say, and I kept stumbling at the same part every time. And when I would stumble, I would say, ‘Sorry.’ And I did that like two, three times. It was so embarrassing. And the casting director told me, ‘Oh, don’t worry about it. You don’t have to say, sorry.’ And then I did it one more time, apologized again. And then she snapped at me. Like, ‘You don’t need to say sorry.'”
Ortega still landed a role in the cast despite flubbing up the lines
Of course, being snapped at only made Ortega feel worse, and she ended up apologizing yet again. But clearly, the audition went better than she expected because she ended up being cast in the role. “And I said, ‘I’m so sorry.'” the Scream star remembered. “And then I ended up booking the job. I don’t remember what job it was, but I remember crying to my mom in the car after telling her, ‘Oh, it did not go well, there’s no way that’s happening.’ And then it did.”
Ortega’s ‘Wednesday’ audition was a much more chill experience
It seems that even when Ortega feels she’s “off,” she’s still able to give a great performance. Fortunately, her audition for Wednesday wasn’t nearly as painful. While filming X in New Zealand, she learned that Tim Burton wanted to meet with her about the part. Her schedule was so jam-packed that she didn’t have time to wipe the fake blood and prosthetics off of her face. Fortunately, Burton found the situation amusing, and after the actor read Wednesday’s sides once, he offered her the role. The rest, as they say, is history.
