Jenna Ortega says she had a childhood staring problem — “I was always a creep”
Jenna Ortega says a childhood “staring problem” had her studying strangers — and she’s finally sharing what pushed her to leave it behind.
On the April 8 episode of Big Bro with Kid Cudi, Jenna Ortega traced her now-famous deadpan gaze back to childhood, saying the habit of closely watching strangers has long fed the way she builds characters. She talked about turning tiny real-world ticks — a pause, a limp, the way someone’s eyes move — into the spine of a performance.
The conversation dug into her process, Wednesday , her upbringing, and how she mines everyday life for detail. Ortega and Kid Cudi also share history in Ti West’s horror movie X, which gave the interview an easy shorthand.
“When I was younger I was always a creep, serious staring problem. Everyone is being looked up, down, sideways, like I know you so well from across the road”
She even admitted she’ll still trail a mannerism if it helps crack a role.
“I’ve got this script in my hands right now where there’s a character who’s got an injury and is limping a bit, and a few weeks ago I saw someone with an injury limping a bit, and the whole time I’m just watching them walk up and down the street because I’m thinking, oh, okay, this is-”
Ortega started acting at nine, moved from Jane the Virgin and Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle into darker, more adult turns in You, Scream, and X. Her breakout as Wednesday Addams pushed that quiet, unnerving observation style into the mainstream and brought major awards attention.
What she’s working on
She isn’t just starring in Wednesday Season 2 — Ortega is a producer this time, with a say in scripts, casting, design and prosthetics, expanding her influence on the show’s look and tone.
Next up on the film side is The Great Beyond, J.J. Abrams’ new project that pairs her with Glen Powell. Ortega told Esquire she plays a lost young woman who lands in a new city with a tangled past and bonds with Powell’s character; the role fixates on a single obsession to the point of mania — a character she called “a freak in a different way.”
- The Great Beyond — directed by J.J. Abrams
- Cast includes Jenna Ortega, Glen Powell, Emma Mackey and Samuel L. Jackson
- Ortega’s character: a newcomer with a confusing history who becomes consumed by one subject
The Big Bro with Kid Cudi episode runs just over an hour.