Have you ever dreamed about being a child star?
What excites you about the possibility? The chance to express yourself creatively? The opportunity to move and thrill audiences? The fame? The fortune? The prospect of signing autographs and taking selfies with fans?
Are you a fan of Jenna Ortega? Have you followed her career, which at the age of 22 includes playing the title character in Netflix’s “Addams Family” reboot, “Wednesday,” and starring in the new movie “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 classic.
In “Childhood Stardom Is Rough. Jenna Ortega Is Still Recovering.,” The Times’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro talked to the young actor about what it’s like to get so famous so fast. Below are excerpts from their interview (as well as the complete interview in audio):
Listen to the Conversation With Jenna Ortega
The actress talks about learning to protect herself and the hard lessons of early fame.
Your first lead came when you landed the Disney show “Stuck in the Middle,” and then you were a voice actor in the animated Disney show “Elena of Avalor” — Disney’s first Latina princess. You played her younger sister, who is also a princess. Do you remember the significance of being part of that show? Most definitely. When I initially was trying to convince my parents to let me act, I remember crying one night at the dinner table and saying: “Oh, man, I can do it. I know I can do it. If you let me do it, I swear to you, I will end up on the Disney Channel.” So that was a huge marker of success for me when I was really young, because I had met my promise. I completed my task. Then with “Elena of Avalor,” Disney actually flew me out to Orlando to Disney World to promote the Disney princess in the park. And I remember almost being brought to tears, and my mom was definitely crying because we saw Elena walk through the park for the first time, and there were girls of all different ages and colors dressed in her outfit. And that, to us, was such a glorious moment because it was all I wanted growing up — somebody I could relate to.
Your parents were very supportive, but they weren’t like stage parents, right? At all.
What was the dynamic, especially around other families who really wanted their kids to become stars? When I first started auditioning, we’d spend hours in these casting offices, and we met so many strange and intense personalities. It could be stage parents, it could be producers that really made me fearful of other people for a while, and I think that’s when I started to become more introverted. It was such a joy to be able to get back in the car at the end of the day and do my homework, because I was still going to public school at the time, and listen to my mom talk and catch up with my siblings at home.
What do you mean when you said it made you afraid of other people? We were so brand-new to everything, and some of these people had been in it for years, or every kid in that family was an actor, or all of these people had advice and experience and lessons, and I didn’t know anything about Hollywood. I didn’t know anyone, and I wanted to be able to do things at my own pace and in my own style, but you didn’t know if people were saying things to help you or to hurt you. And not even on that show, just speaking about my career as a child overall, there were definitely a few moments where you realized, Oh, maybe that person didn’t have my best interests, or maybe they didn’t want to be as supportive of me as they said. And that’s a hard lesson to learn so young, and especially hard when you have adults or people who should know better addressing you in a way that is potentially harmful to somebody whose brain is still growing and developing.
The interview continues as follows:
Do you think that that’s what helps when you’re a child actor, having parents that are going to protect you? Yeah. Child acting is strange. I see why my parents felt so hesitant about it, because you’re putting a child in an adult workplace. I think if I had just stayed growing up in Coachella Valley, I would be a completely different person. I wouldn’t speak the way that I do or approach interactions the way that I do. It’s completely changed my way of thinking and going about life, and when I speak to other child actors, I can pick them out instantly because we all have that — it’s just very specific, like some secret little language or something that we all share. Children aren’t supposed to be working like that. They are supposed to be climbing trees and drawing and going to school. Some of those kids’ parents don’t even take school seriously, so I feel really, really fortunate to have had parents who made sure that I hung out with friends, made sure that I went to public school and wouldn’t allow me to work on a job unless I had straight A’s and was prioritizing my sleep and my schoolwork.
It’s funny when you say that you can pick them out in a room. What is that thing? Is it just a poise, a precociousness? Yes. Poise, precociousness. What I’m finding too is, oftentimes we mistake it for maturity, and it’s not. It’s almost a mask. It’s a professionalism that people our age typically aren’t equipped with because you’re waking up at 6 in the morning every day and starting your morning with meetings and coffee, and I think it’s very important to mention that we think it’s maturity, and it’s not.
Do you regret that you chose that path? There’s times that I regret it; there’s times that my parents regret it. Looking back, I wouldn’t change anything. I don’t believe in that because, if anything, I’m incredibly grateful for the lessons that it did teach me. I love that when I go on a set now I’m incredibly knowledgeable. I know what the camera verbiage means, I know what a grip’s job is, I know what a gaffer’s job is, I can get along with the D.P., I can go through shot lists. I understand it all. I know what’s going on around me, therefore I feel incredibly safe and comfortable and excited to go to work every day because it’s familiar to me.
Ortega discusses what she hopes viewers, particularly girls and women, get from her role as Wednesday:
Right now you’re filming the new season of “Wednesday.” And one of the things that I love about the character is that it gives young girls permission to not be nice. My daughter has a Wednesday mug that says, “I don’t bury hatchets, I sharpen them.” Beautiful.
She’s 11. She’s cool.
I think it’s a good message for young girls and for women, for all of us, that you don’t have to be liked all the time. I think Wednesday taught me the same thing. She’s definitely taught me to be a lot more confident, a lot more headstrong. It’s really easy for women to be labeled difficult or a diva or just trouble, and I think that’s ridiculous. It’s not a bad thing to be opinionated. It’s not a nasty, evil thing. It’s so important to have opinions. If we didn’t have opinions, where the hell would we be? We would get nothing done. It would be a mess.
My students, read the entire interview or listen to the embedded audio version, and then tell me:
Would you want to be a child star? Why or why not? What do you imagine are the thrills and rewards? What do you think might be the possible pitfalls and downsides?
Have you ever acted? If so, what was your experience like? If not, did reading the interview make you want to try?
Are you a fan of Jenna Ortega? What did you learn from her interview about being a child performer — or about life in general? Which part of the discussion was most interesting or inspiring to you? Did any lines or quotations stand out? Does the interview change how you think of childhood fame and the pursuit of it?
Do you have a favorite young actor? What makes that person appealing or admirable to you? What question would you want to ask Ortega — or another child star, past or present?
While talking to the New York Times, Jenna Ortega claims she is “still recovering” from being a child star. This is due to the fact that putting children in an adult filled industry is challenging, many advisors may not have a person best interest and the pressure is intense. That’s exactly why I wouldn’t want to be a child star, because of the pressure and the industry that is Hollywood. I highly doubt that I would be able to act and perform for other people while pushing myself to meet their expectations. Not only does the pressure deter me from the idea of being a child star, but so does the comfort of normality. Having my face on the big screen doesn’t excite me, I would much rather live my childhood not having to focus on an acting job. There’s nothing I’d exchange my childhood for, I mean, no amount of fame or money is more valuable than the memories I made when I was a kid. No amount of fame or money will ever change and will never replace all the memories I made when I was a kid.
Are you a fan of Jenna Ortega? Have you followed her career, which at the age of 22 includes playing the title character in Netflix’s “Addams Family” reboot, “Wednesday,” and starring in the new movie “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 classic.
In “Childhood Stardom Is Rough. Jenna Ortega Is Still Recovering.,” The Times’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro talked to the young actor about what it’s like to get so famous so fast. Below are excerpts from their interview (as well as the complete interview in audio):
Listen to the Conversation With Jenna Ortega
The actress talks about learning to protect herself and the hard lessons of early fame.
Your first lead came when you landed the Disney show “Stuck in the Middle,” and then you were a voice actor in the animated Disney show “Elena of Avalor” — Disney’s first Latina princess. You played her younger sister, who is also a princess. Do you remember the significance of being part of that show? Most definitely. When I initially was trying to convince my parents to let me act, I remember crying one night at the dinner table and saying: “Oh, man, I can do it. I know I can do it. If you let me do it, I swear to you, I will end up on the Disney Channel.” So that was a huge marker of success for me when I was really young, because I had met my promise. I completed my task. Then with “Elena of Avalor,” Disney actually flew me out to Orlando to Disney World to promote the Disney princess in the park. And I remember almost being brought to tears, and my mom was definitely crying because we saw Elena walk through the park for the first time, and there were girls of all different ages and colors dressed in her outfit. And that, to us, was such a glorious moment because it was all I wanted growing up — somebody I could relate to.
Your parents were very supportive, but they weren’t like stage parents, right? At all.
What was the dynamic, especially around other families who really wanted their kids to become stars? When I first started auditioning, we’d spend hours in these casting offices, and we met so many strange and intense personalities. It could be stage parents, it could be producers that really made me fearful of other people for a while, and I think that’s when I started to become more introverted. It was such a joy to be able to get back in the car at the end of the day and do my homework, because I was still going to public school at the time, and listen to my mom talk and catch up with my siblings at home.
What do you mean when you said it made you afraid of other people? We were so brand-new to everything, and some of these people had been in it for years, or every kid in that family was an actor, or all of these people had advice and experience and lessons, and I didn’t know anything about Hollywood. I didn’t know anyone, and I wanted to be able to do things at my own pace and in my own style, but you didn’t know if people were saying things to help you or to hurt you. And not even on that show, just speaking about my career as a child overall, there were definitely a few moments where you realized, Oh, maybe that person didn’t have my best interests, or maybe they didn’t want to be as supportive of me as they said. And that’s a hard lesson to learn so young, and especially hard when you have adults or people who should know better addressing you in a way that is potentially harmful to somebody whose brain is still growing and developing.
The interview continues as follows:
Do you think that that’s what helps when you’re a child actor, having parents that are going to protect you? Yeah. Child acting is strange. I see why my parents felt so hesitant about it, because you’re putting a child in an adult workplace. I think if I had just stayed growing up in Coachella Valley, I would be a completely different person. I wouldn’t speak the way that I do or approach interactions the way that I do. It’s completely changed my way of thinking and going about life, and when I speak to other child actors, I can pick them out instantly because we all have that — it’s just very specific, like some secret little language or something that we all share. Children aren’t supposed to be working like that. They are supposed to be climbing trees and drawing and going to school. Some of those kids’ parents don’t even take school seriously, so I feel really, really fortunate to have had parents who made sure that I hung out with friends, made sure that I went to public school and wouldn’t allow me to work on a job unless I had straight A’s and was prioritizing my sleep and my schoolwork.
It’s funny when you say that you can pick them out in a room. What is that thing? Is it just a poise, a precociousness? Yes. Poise, precociousness. What I’m finding too is, oftentimes we mistake it for maturity, and it’s not. It’s almost a mask. It’s a professionalism that people our age typically aren’t equipped with because you’re waking up at 6 in the morning every day and starting your morning with meetings and coffee, and I think it’s very important to mention that we think it’s maturity, and it’s not.
Do you regret that you chose that path? There’s times that I regret it; there’s times that my parents regret it. Looking back, I wouldn’t change anything. I don’t believe in that because, if anything, I’m incredibly grateful for the lessons that it did teach me. I love that when I go on a set now I’m incredibly knowledgeable. I know what the camera verbiage means, I know what a grip’s job is, I know what a gaffer’s job is, I can get along with the D.P., I can go through shot lists. I understand it all. I know what’s going on around me, therefore I feel incredibly safe and comfortable and excited to go to work every day because it’s familiar to me.
Ortega discusses what she hopes viewers, particularly girls and women, get from her role as Wednesday:
Right now you’re filming the new season of “Wednesday.” And one of the things that I love about the character is that it gives young girls permission to not be nice. My daughter has a Wednesday mug that says, “I don’t bury hatchets, I sharpen them.” Beautiful.
She’s 11. She’s cool.
I think it’s a good message for young girls and for women, for all of us, that you don’t have to be liked all the time. I think Wednesday taught me the same thing. She’s definitely taught me to be a lot more confident, a lot more headstrong. It’s really easy for women to be labeled difficult or a diva or just trouble, and I think that’s ridiculous. It’s not a bad thing to be opinionated. It’s not a nasty, evil thing. It’s so important to have opinions. If we didn’t have opinions, where the hell would we be? We would get nothing done. It would be a mess.
My students, read the entire interview or listen to the embedded audio version, and then tell me:
Would you want to be a child star? Why or why not? What do you imagine are the thrills and rewards? What do you think might be the possible pitfalls and downsides?
Have you ever acted? If so, what was your experience like? If not, did reading the interview make you want to try?
Are you a fan of Jenna Ortega? What did you learn from her interview about being a child performer — or about life in general? Which part of the discussion was most interesting or inspiring to you? Did any lines or quotations stand out? Does the interview change how you think of childhood fame and the pursuit of it?
Do you have a favorite young actor? What makes that person appealing or admirable to you? What question would you want to ask Ortega — or another child star, past or present?
While talking to the New York Times, Jenna Ortega claims she is “still recovering” from being a child star. This is due to the fact that putting children in an adult filled industry is challenging, many advisors may not have a person best interest and the pressure is intense. That’s exactly why I wouldn’t want to be a child star, because of the pressure and the industry that is Hollywood. I highly doubt that I would be able to act and perform for other people while pushing myself to meet their expectations. Not only does the pressure deter me from the idea of being a child star, but so does the comfort of normality. Having my face on the big screen doesn’t excite me, I would much rather live my childhood not having to focus on an acting job. There’s nothing I’d exchange my childhood for, I mean, no amount of fame or money is more valuable than the memories I made when I was a kid. No amount of fame or money will ever change and will never replace all the memories I made when I was a kid.
