Jenna Ortega was so determined to be the “perfect” child actor that she apparently forgot one tiny detail: taking care of herself.
The Wednesdaystar, 23, opened up to Esquireabout her first experiences on set, revealing that her biggest rookie mistake may have been trying too hard not to inconvenience anyone.
“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.”
Then came the startling confession.
“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, was not actually looking after myself,” the actress admitted.
The actress began working at just 9, appearing in Robbefore landing roles in Insidious: Chapter 2, Iron Man 3, Jane the Virginand Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle.
Ortega also pushed back — with a cheeky caveat — on stereotypes surrounding child stars.
“Is it wrong to say that a lot of them are true? And do with that what you will,” she told Esquire.
At seven, Ortega already knew acting was what she wanted. Her parents initially laughed at the idea, but her stubborn streak apparently won.
She credits Dakota Fanning as an early inspiration, saying, “she kind of taught me what an actor even was when I was a kid.”
And acting almost didn’t continue. As a teenager, Ortega considered quitting — until You changed her mind.
“I thought, ‘Yeah, there’s no way I could let this go.’”
The rest, as they say, became Wednesday history.
2026-08-12 15:41:00
