Jenna Ortega, the Wednesday star, has opened up about her career, the risks she has taken, and how she looks at the choices that have not always gone as planned. The 23-year-old actor spoke about her career journey in Esquire’s Mavericks of Hollywood September 2026 issue.
Ortega also discussed returning to Wednesday for Season 3 as she prepares for what she described as the next chapter of her career.
Jenna Ortega opens up about taking risks and learning from her career choices
Ortega said in her interview with Esquire that she has spent the past few years trying different kinds of roles and projects as she figured out what she wanted from her career. “I’ve been in this experimental phase,” she said. “It’s only been in the last year or so—especially with the show coming to a head and getting ready to enter this next chapter in my life and career—that I’ve really honed in.”
She added, “Now it’s important to me to be focused on stories and characters that I feel truly connected to.”
When asked whether she had learned from the risks she took, she said, “One hundred percent, yeah.” She explained, “I don’t know if I can ever categorize anything as a mistake. Good or bad, you’re going to learn from it.”
Ortega starred in Hurry Up Tomorrow, the 2025 drama she made with The Weeknd, but the film underwhelmed viewers. Still, the experience appears to fit her broader view that even projects that do not work out can teach her something.
Her career has already taken her through several different types of projects. Along with Wednesday, she has appeared in major franchises such as Scream and Beetlejuice, as well as films including Miller’s Girl and Death of a Unicorn. She is also set to star in Taika Waititi’s “Klara and the Sun” and J.J. Abrams’ upcoming sci-fi fantasy film “The Great Beyond”.
Meanwhile, Ortega is returning as Wednesday Addams for Season 3. She said the new season will explore more confrontational feelings around family, adulthood, and figuring out what comes next in life.
TELL US – DO YOU AGREE WITH JENNA ORTEGA’S WAY OF LOOKING AT CAREER MISTAKES?
Reported by Deepshikha Sarkar on Reality Tea.
