Jenna Ortega says she nearly quit acting before landing ‘You’ role

Jenna Ortega has revealed that she seriously considered stepping away from acting as a teenager before securing the role that helped transform her career.

During a recent appearance on Kid Cudi’s podcast Big Bro, the actor explained that she had begun questioning her future in the industry after finishing work on a children’s television series. At the time, she felt uncertain about how to transition into more mature roles and worried about whether casting directors would recognise her potential.

Ortega said the period came while she was beginning high school, a moment when many young performers reassess their careers. She explained that the uncertainty made her contemplate leaving the profession altogether.

“I did not know what else I was going to do,” Ortega said during the podcast. “I have never really considered anything else. But when I was a teenager I had gotten off a children’s show and I did not know what I was going to do. I had to prove myself and meet all these new casting directors who did not know who I was.”

The uncertainty led to conversations with her professional team about whether continuing in the entertainment industry was the right decision. Ortega described the period as one in which she felt it might be the right time to walk away if her career failed to evolve.

“It felt like a good time to call it quits if I was going to,” she said. “I was starting high school and it was kind of a ‘it was a good run’ sort of thing.”

Her outlook changed when she landed the role of Ellie Alves in the Netflix thriller series You. Ortega joined the programme during its second season, portraying the teenage neighbour of the series’ central character Joe Goldberg, played by Penn Badgley.

Working on the set proved to be a turning point. Ortega said the experience reignited her passion for acting and convinced her to remain in the profession.

“I think I booked that show You and then I went on that set and I loved it and had the best time,” she said. “I thought there was no way I could let this go.”

Since that moment, Ortega’s career has expanded rapidly. She has taken on a range of prominent roles in both film and television, becoming one of the most recognisable young performers of her generation.

Her film work includes projects such as X, Scream VI, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Death of a Unicorn. She also leads the Netflix series Wednesday, a modern interpretation of the Addams Family story that earned widespread popularity and critical recognition.