For many seasoned actors, a dash of Hollywood magic strays from the more obvious tricks of levitation and transposition. Perhaps the magical assortment can be likened to an escape from a straight jacket or handcuffs, that is—but a gateway ascension into an alternate cinematic universe. For 18-year-old Jenna Ortega, seemingly impossible acting feats are conquered in the most bewitching of moments. “As an artist or an actor,” Ortega emphatically states of theatrics’ essence as we connect over Zoom, “you’re always searching for that moment or release, and it makes it all worth it.”

Agreeably, our minds may be led astray by the illusions of movie magic that defy our sometimes stark realities. But the tricks that pervade our wandering mind eventually lead us to a source of entertainment, and a sense of familiar connection or admiration for a story, character, or setting. Ortega is well aware of this kinetic kinship shared with curated characters, especially in relation to her newest role. The actor is set to star as Wednesday Addams in the highly anticipated, and delightfully dark, Netflix series Wednesday, guided by gothic film creator, Tim Burton. “I’ve had comparisons to Wednesday all my life, so it kind of felt right,” she remarks of the oddly sweet-natured, but occasionally morbid character. “She’s very deadpan and she doesn’t show a lot of emotion, but she is the title character. I think making it a layered performance, without taking away from who she is as an individual, is my biggest concern. I want her to be true to character, while also showing some sort of range that can carry the story.” Besides the allure of the character herself, Ortega’s fascination with the project stemmed from what she observes as a lack of iconic Latina characters in media. “Considering Wednesday’s father Gomez Addams is Hispanic, I thought it was only appropriate that Wednesday be Latina as well,” she asserts.

Ortega’s exploration of ghastly characters extends beyond her titular role as Wednesday into the ever-evolving voyage of horror. One of these upcoming projects happens to be Scream, the fifth installment of the franchise that began with Wes Craven’s 1996 classic of the same name, which will release in January of 2022, alongside actors David Arquette and Courteney Cox. The plot of Scream has been largely kept under wraps, but Ortega proclaims the film as her favorite job out of anything she’s ever acted in. “It was a once in a lifetime experience,” she declares, “with that cast and crew that I don’t know I’ll ever have again.” Like someone who’s truly found her groove, so to speak, amidst the plethora of stunts, gore, and special effects, Ortega finds the triumph of “when the blood splats the right way” the most gratifying.

Horror as a genre seems to be Ortega’s forte, and when probed about her fascination with the variety, she always returns to the pure amusement that arises from the filming process. “They’re honestly the most fun sets,” she says, “and as a fan of horror myself, anytime I can get on those sets, I jump to do it. There’s a lack of pressure because what we’re creating is pure entertainment. There is no pressure to be the best.” Ortega is also slated to appear in upcoming thriller, X, directed by horror maverick, Ti West, starring Kid Cudi, Mia Goth, and Brittany Snow, which Ortega shares she filmed in New Zealand for three months in the midst of the pandemic.

The roles come in sharp contrast to Ortega’s early days as tween Harley Diaz on Disney’s Stuck in the Middle, and even her recent role as rebel child, Katie Torres, in Yes Day, alongside Jennifer Garner. “It’s so funny doing something like Yes Day,” she shares, “because I have a Disney background, so it kind of came second-nature. As an actor, I never want to be pigeonholed. You go from horror where every other word is ‘fuck’ and then you go to Yes Day, where no one says a word. It’s a fun and refreshing transition because it forces you to use your acting muscles in a different way.”

Ortega’s ability to flex said acting muscles has further evidenced quite fruitfully, having previously played young Jane on Jane the Virgin, and the outspoken teen neighbor Ellie Alves on cult-favorite, You. However, her recent role in indie feature, The Fallout, seemed to challenge how far she could take her acting abilities, as she stars as high schooler Vada Cavell, who navigates the psychological tumult of a school shooting’s aftermath. The film won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2021 SXSW Festival, and is anticipated to be released on HBO Max. “It was really hard, because it was a very sensitive topic. I didn’t want it to be perceived in the wrong way,” she says. “It was even a challenge on set where we never wanted to make light of the situation. It’s a weird, fine line of needing to portray people affected by this, but we also didn’t want to insert ourselves into a situation which I, fortunately, had never experienced. The reality is children are scared to go to school, and it’s an awful reality that has become normalized. Trying to create condolences through film was a tricky situation.”

Tackling sensitive topics is a facet Ortega is familiar with in her personal life as well, being involved with many activist organizations like the National Bullying Prevention Center, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and
Geena Davis Institute. Her desire to gain knowledge and educate others is a tendency that developed early on in her career. “I think it’s something that my parents instilled in me when I was very young,”
she affirms. “As a person who constantly wants to learn more and is a huge fan of reading, I find myself easily getting down these rabbit holes of information. When it comes to activism, I care about the people around me and the world. It’s so frustrating learning about things we have no power over. So if we can make people aware, I think it’s important we do that, so that people aren’t ignorant to the difficulties or tragedies others are facing in their everyday lives.”

While Ortega’s generation is making strides in raising awareness for a variety of issues, and out spokenly challenging the forces of political hierarchies in power, she maintains a disposition that is open for change. “When it comes to my generation, there’s a fine line,” she notes. “What I love is that they are determined to educate themselves, and how active they are in pursuit of changing the world, especially when it comes to human rights or environmental changes. Something I would hope for my generation is that we learn to create an environment that is not so toxic, where we don’t jump on other people for asking questions. I think it makes people scared to inquire about certain topics, because they don’t want to be ridiculed for saying the wrong thing. We need to be kinder and not assume people are going to know everything.”

Fatefully, and echoing the need for society to reciprocate affection and gentleness towards one another, came the idea of It’s All Love, Ortega’s first nonfiction book, replete with motivational anecdotes about Ortega’s backstory and affirmations. For Ortega, the career decision to traverse writing was one inspired by her high school English teacher. “I would send her essays on topics that were relevant, or spoke to me, or felt like something that needed to be talked about,” she recalls. “She would be like, ‘Hey, I think you should do something with these. I think you should publish these.’ And that’s where the idea for It’s All Love originated. The book was a way for me to connect with people that wasn’t social media, and also a way for me to talk about my experiences in the industry. It discusses how people are a lot more similar than we are different, even though we make ourselves out to be more different.”

As for what’s in store for the magical moments of Ortega’s future, the door is ajar, sans the need for a fairy godmother. “It’s hard for me to perceive myself in the future, because I like to be open to anything happening,” she discerns. “I don’t like to prepare too much for certain things. I think the people I have gotten to work with, and the opportunities that have come my way are completely surprising.” Regardless of what is forthcoming, enchantment still remains observable in Ortega’s everyday life, even in the wake of the enduring unrest of the past two years. “The small things in life are magical,” she concludes. “I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to try to make light out of darkness during the pandemic and learn about myself as an individual.”