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At just twenty-one years old, Jenna Ortega has joined an esteemed group of actors who have worked with writer/director Tim Burton on multiple occasions. It seems like she’s on her way to becoming an actress synonymous with the director’s work, but don’t let their partnership fool you. Ortega still has to audition for roles in his movies and has even gotten turned down for some in the past.
In an interview with GQ, Ortega told her co-star and fellow frequent Burton collaborator, Michael Keaton, that before she became Wednesday Adams, she had auditioned for Burton’s live-action adaptation of Dumbo.
I remember auditioning for Dumbo. I actually auditioned for Dumbo. I was like fourteen or something like that, and I was so excited. I couldn’t believe that Tim [Burton] was making a movie; it had been a minute. I was like, ah man, this would just be an incredible opportunity.
At that point, it had been three years since Burton had directed a feature film — the last being Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which was met with mixed reviews upon its release. Ortega, on the other hand, had been working steadily in Hollywood for four years in smaller roles but had yet to land a true break-out role.
Like all actors, Ortega understood it was impossible to land every role she auditioned for. Rejection is part of the business, and she told Keaton that she had several people around her to remind her of that fact. However, not getting a role in Dumbo really affected her.
I remember Dumbo being one, that for weeks I was just gutted.
The Wednesday actress didn’t specify which role she auditioned for, but given her age, one can assume it was for the role of Milly Farrier. The role ultimately went to Nico Parker, now best known for playing Sarah Miller in the first season of The Last of Us, who did a phenomenal job.
Part of Ortega’s emotional reaction to not landing the role stemmed from fears that she had missed her only chance to work with Burton. In hindsight, it was just an emotional and irrational reaction, given the trajectory of her career. A fact she joked about in the interview, saying:
I just thought, what if I never get the opportunity to work with him again? And now I’ve worked with him twice.
Six years after the release of Dumbo, Ortega made her debut in Burton’s first television series, Wednesday. Critics hailed her performance, and her impromptu dance in one of the episodes went viral, helping to get more attention for the already successful series. Not only did she impress the world, but she impressed him enough to not only get an audition but also a role in the highly anticipated sequel Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.
Reuniting the original cast and adding new faces like Ortega’s seems to have paid off, considering the sequel posted a near-record-breaking premiere weekend at the box office. Not only is it turning a profit, but Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is also receiving praise from critics who have referred to the film as “whimsically macabre.”
You can catch Oretga, Keaton, and the rest of the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice cast by heading to your local movie theater. And don’t forget to keep an eye on everything new and coming soon to Netflix so you don’t miss the premiere date of Season 2 of Wednesday.