Jenna Ortega nearly quit acting before landing ‘You’ role

Jenna Ortega revealed she almost quit acting before landing a role in the second season of “You.”

“I didn’t know what else I was gonna do. I’ve never really considered anything else, more so recently, just out of sake of curiosity and wanting another life experience,” the 23-year-old actress said on Wednesday’s episode of the “Big Bro with Kid Cudi” podcast.

Ortega continued, “But when I was a teenager, I’d gotten off of a children’s show, and I didn’t know what I was going to do. I had to prove myself and meet all these new casting directors who didn’t know who I was.”

She admitted that during that point in her career, “It just felt like a good time to call it quits if I was going to.”

Ortega also noted that she was just starting high school at the time, so she was willing to walk away from Hollywood and even talked about her decision “for a few months with my team.”

But that changed in 2019 once Ortega was cast in “You” Season 2 as Joe Goldberg’s (Penn Badgley) young neighbor, Ellie Alves.

“I went on that set, and I loved it and had the best time,” she said of her experience working on the hit Netflix show. “I thought, ‘Yeah, there’s no way I could let this go.’”

“But I think it’s a really easy thought to have,” Ortega acknowledged. “There’s so much that comes with the job that no one can really prepare you for.”

Ortega had her breakout roles in the CW show “Jane the Virgin” and the Disney Channel series “Stuck in the Middle.”

After starring in “You,” she found even more success on the big screen in three “Scream” movies and the “Beetlejuice” sequel.

Since 2022, Ortega has starred as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series “Wednesday,” which has earned her Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG nominations.

On Kid Cudi’s podcast, Ortega explained that the busier she is in her career, the better.

“If I’m sat still for too long or if I don’t have plans or something to look forward to, I kind of drive myself crazy,” she said. “It’s a weird job to be in.”

The “Yes Day” actress also revealed that she just had a four-month break from working for the first time in years, which she was initially “so scared” about.

“I remember everyone [saying], ‘Okay, you just take care of yourself,’” she shared. “Because they know how much I like the job. They know how much I like showing up and shooting.”

Ortega said that during her first few weeks off, she struggled with having so much free time on her hands.

But “now that we’re coming to a close, and I’m almost done, I feel so necessary,” she said.

“I feel so much better. I learned so much about what I enjoy and what I don’t enjoy.”