Jenna Ortega began her career in Hollywood as a child actress at age 9 and quickly gained a fan base with roles on hit shows like Disney Channel’s “Stuck in the Middle.” She recently told The New York Times that she never had to endure misconduct on set as a child because her mother “watched over me like a hawk.” Ortega hasn’t seen this year’s widely acclaimed documentary series “Quiet on Set,” which told several stories of misconduct and harassment behind the scenes of Nickelodeon shows, but her mother saw it and “she called me about it.”
“I think it was more painful for her because she had seen other children maybe not being protected or not being cared for as well,” Ortega said of her mother’s reaction. “She was watching over me like a hawk, so I think it was more compassionate for her and she wished she could have done something to help. She just called me and said she was so grateful that everything was OK and that she was there to witness it all.”
Although Ortega was fortunate to be protected from harassment on set, she admitted to the Times that “child performances in general are strange.”
“I understand why my parents were so hesitant, because you’re sending a child into an adult profession,” Ortega said. “I think if I had just grown up in the Coachella Valley, I would be a completely different person. I wouldn’t speak the way I do, and I wouldn’t approach interactions the way I do. It’s completely changed the way I think and the way I live, and when I talk to other child actors, I recognize them immediately because we all have that — it’s just very specific, like a secret little language or something we all share.”
“Kids shouldn’t work like that,” Ortega continued. “They should be climbing trees, painting, and going to school. Some of these kids’ parents don’t even take school seriously. So I’m really, really glad that I had parents who made sure I hung out with friends, made sure I went to public school, and didn’t allow me to work unless I got straight A’s and prioritized my sleep and my schoolwork.”
Although Ortega admitted that there are “times when I regret” choosing an acting career at such a young age and that “there are times when my parents regret it,” she “wouldn’t change anything.”
“I don’t believe that, because if anything, I’m incredibly grateful for the lessons I’ve learned from it,” Ortega said. “I love that when I walk onto a set now, I know so much. I know what the camera language means, I know what a grip’s job is, I know what a gaffer’s job is, I get along with the DP, I can go through shot lists. I understand everything. I know what’s going on around me, so I feel incredibly confident and comfortable and look forward to going to work every day because it’s familiar.”
Ortega can next be seen in Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice,” which will be released by Warner Bros. on Sept. 6 following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Visit the New York Times website to read Ortega’s full profile.
