Jenna Ortega is reflecting on the pressure she felt to be perfect and stay out of the way while working in Hollywood as a child.
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The Wednesday star discussed her early career in an interview with Esquire, where she was asked about a “rookie mistake” she made on her first set. Rather than recalling a major on-set blunder, Ortega said she was intensely focused on proving herself.
“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.”
Ortega then revealed that her determination to avoid becoming a burden sometimes came at the expense of her basic needs.
“I wasn’t asking for a sip of water,” she said. “I would go all day without eating, drinking, whatever, because I wanted so badly to not be in the way of anybody.”
Looking back, Ortega now considers that mindset one of the mistakes she made.
“Maybe that was my mistake, was not actually looking after myself,” she said.
The actress also addressed the stereotypes surrounding child stars and suggested that some of the assumptions about young performers may have a basis in reality.
“Is it wrong to say that a lot of them are true?” Ortega said. “And do with that what you will.”
Ortega entered the entertainment industry at just 7 years old after telling her parents she wanted to become an actor. Her parents initially laughed at the idea, but Ortega said their reaction only strengthened her determination.
“My parents laughed at me when I told them that I wanted to do it, and then that was kind of the root of everything. The motivation,” she said. “And I never really stopped, because I’m very stubborn. And then I never questioned it.”
Her early work eventually led to roles on Disney Channel before she transitioned into more mature projects. Her breakthrough came with the Netflix series Wednesday, in which she plays the titular character.