While she might be physically petite, 22-year-old Jenna Ortega is one of Hollywood’s most gargantuan names. This striking contrast—reminiscent of the late Joan Didion, whose slight frame and cool detachment only sharpened the impact of her words—has been a defining feature of Ortega’s presence on screen.

In her breakout role as Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s reimagining of The Addams Family, simply dubbed Wednesday, Ortega’s deadpan delivery of razor-sharp lines, spoken with a stony and unflinching face, made her a household name and cultural phenomenon. Now, Ortega has the luxury and power to navigate Hollywood the way she wants, most recently having acted alongside Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) in Hurry Up Tomorrow, a musical psychological thriller directed by Trey Edward Shults and written by Shults, Tesfaye, and Reza Fahim. It is but one small feat in the career of a young woman who is becoming more and more comfortable as one of Tinseltown’s leading ladies—and a potential powerhouse director down the road.

Ahead of their film’s release, Ortega spoke with The Weeknd about creative risk-taking and life before fame.

The Weeknd: This is the first time I’ve ever interviewed anyone, really, so I hope I don’t screw this up. You’re also a producer on the first film that I’ve ever done, which is kind of cool. So I think you have become a pretty important person in my career. The film that we worked on is deeply personal to me, but you brought so much insight to it. It’s no surprise. You’re an incredible actress, but what I discovered on set, and what I love, love, love telling people, is how incredible your instincts are as a storyteller and a filmmaker. Do you have a burning desire to tell your own stories?

Jenna Ortega: 100% I do. Well, first of all, thanks for all the kind things you said. By the way, I just felt so lucky to be a part of your story, and it was so nice getting to know you. It was weird because I felt like I was getting to know you through [my character] Anima, because she’s kind of holding up a mirror to your character the whole time. And while I know it’s not an exact representation of you, I think it’s still a really fascinating character study. I like it when stories aren’t linear, and the audience has to ask questions. I found myself asking questions and then answering them too, through the dialogue and the script pages alone, which is really cool. I’ve never had that on a job before, but as far as my own stories go, I think sometimes when you’re a creative person, or you’re in any sort of art field, you kind of just feel this incessant need to keep doing more, keep trying new things, and whether that is the medium that you’re practicing in or another medium. It’s like you with your music, your film career, and your acting career. It’s your innovative brain—your brain wants to keep moving, and you want to keep taking steps forward. So I feel like it would only be a natural process in my career for me to start taking those steps forward. 

TW: It’s like a muscle that, as creatives, we want to continuously expand. Are you working on something that’s original?

JO: I have a script that I’ve known that I was going to make for almost 10 years. It’s weird because it’s something that I thought of when I was younger and when I first started out in this field, and it’s only now that I’m actually starting to take the steps to get it made, which is really interesting. I think learning how to produce and being a part of projects in that way has informed me so much. There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes that I wasn’t aware of. I’m just putting the puzzle pieces together in my head. So I think I needed a few years of that under my belt to understand the order of doing things. Everything that I’ve done in my career, I feel like there’s a reason why I didn’t make this story at an earlier time, but I’m really excited about it. Then there are a couple of other things I’m trying to develop right now, but it’s strictly off of being inspired by another actor or a writer, characters that I’ve never really gotten the opportunity to play before. They’re very different preparation processes. So for me, it’s always fun to try something new. But I think oftentimes to get the stories that you want to get made nowadays, you kind of have to start them yourself.

TW: Do you feel it’d be tough to make something that you wouldn’t be starring in? 

JO: This one in particular, I see myself in it, but I really want to direct. That’s probably the main thing that I want to do. I see that for myself. I just feel that’s the way my brain wants to work and think, and that’s how I even view my acting sometimes.

TW: Definitely. I can attest to that. 

JO: It’s hard to develop something that you’re starring in or you’re leading. I’m sure you experienced that firsthand now, where it’s just this weird kind of mind fuck. So I don’t want to be in the things that I create in the future, but starting out, because I’ve created more leverage for myself with a name as an actor, I may as well use that as a stepping stone. 

TW: From what I’ve read, people like Mel Gibson or Ben Stiller in Tropic Thunder, he wanted Tom Cruise to be the lead role. They want to direct, but it’s hard to convince a studio to make a film without them starring in it. Because it’s about the bottom line, always making money. 

JO: I also think that’s why your script, and this job, was kind of a dream job, because it was all coming from you. And for the most part, I have to look at my job in two ways, even though I don’t want to. There’s the artistic side and the side where I get to express myself creatively, and then there’s a business side of things where you have to take other things into account, whatever the public opinions and whatnot. So it’s this weird, confusing balance. I find that I don’t want to think about things as, ‘You’ve got to do the mainstream jobs every once in a while to keep people looped in,’ or, ‘You have to make the studios happy’ and do this and that. But you created this little brain child with Trey [Edward Shults], and it’s just so beautiful to me that it was your [unified] vision, and even the way that we shot on set, it was so fluid and free and collaborative. I even loved just being able to sit and talk with you guys for hours about what the scene meant, or what we were going to be doing, or if there’s something that we wanted to change; it’s just so rare that you get that luxury. Also, when shooting film, there’s this sacred time as soon as you hear the film rolling. And with digital, I feel like people are so careless now—not to make a generalization—but people don’t appreciate what rolling is.

TW: Your assertiveness on set really stood out to me. The way you gave notes and the way you shared input, I believe, elevated what we were doing. When do you think that confidence in your voice started to make its way into your process?

JO: That’s actually a really good question. I don’t know, because I was never that way. Coming up as somebody who didn’t [really] know what Hollywood was. I didn’t know what LA was [like]. I didn’t know what was required to even make a film. I was a kid, and growing up in this industry, I was very much a people pleaser. I didn’t feel like myself. I was very anxious all of the time. I felt like a puppet. I didn’t really have much of a say. Also, I was a child, so people weren’t always going to listen, which is fine and understandable. But still, it was very suffocating as a young person who was balancing so much. I just never really got to explore my own identity. It wasn’t until I became an adult and started doing things strictly off of my own decisions, and maybe not listening to what others had to say, [where] I’d been on a couple of sets where it was kind of desperate times, and I felt like I had to step in and just get some things off of my chest in the most professional and cleanest way possible. And it was received well, and that was really exciting. And then I realized that maybe I do have an okay understanding of what’s going on. I’m by no means perfect. You can always learn more, and you could always do more. But it’s been over a decade of doing this.

TW: We’re allowed to not be perfect, right? Men probably have the luxury to make the mistakes, whereas I assume younger women [who make those same mistakes] wouldn’t be met with the warmest response.

JO: I think it’s [well-documented] that women sometimes have it a bit tougher in the public eye. It’s different for everyone. With musicians, it’s supposed to be more of a portrait of themselves and who they are, and you guys are inspired by your personal lives. So are actors, but we hide behind these characters. I think with the idea of celebrity, too, we put people on such a pedestal that I think the general public groups them in as this superior bunch, like everyone is supposed to have these superpowers or something, and it’s so uncalled for and makes no sense at all. So I was always really hesitant. But when things work,  you realize you can find your footing, and you tune out what everybody else has to say. I think I work best that way. But with you and Trey, you could throw out ideas and they don’t have to be good, but a poor idea can come to fruition as something greeted, something unexpected, something that surprises everyone, which is why it’s always worth it.

TW: That’s also a testament to Trey being such a great director. Obviously, we made something very experimental. So it was easier to throw out ideas, right? I felt like it was all of ours at one point. 

JO: People throw the word “cathartic” around a lot, but it felt very cathartic, and it just felt like a therapy session for all of us. I can’t imagine every set is like that. 

TW: How long have you been acting for now? 

JO:  I’m trying to think. I’ve wanted to do it since I was six, so I was a baby. But I didn’t start until I was around ten. Maybe I was nine, or even eight, actually. It’s all fuzzy now. 

TW: You’ve been so prolific, and you’ve been at the heart of all these massive projects, series, and tentpole films at such a young age. Do you ever miss the anonymity you once had? If you even remember that?

JO: Oh, most definitely. I mean, that was just a few years ago. I’d done some shows and was working in film, but it wasn’t until that show, the day of the week [Wednesday], that just catapulted everything. As grateful as I am, and it was a dream role, it was so nice to have had way less pressure. I love the hustle. There’s something about the actor’s come-up and struggle that I really enjoyed. Sleeping in the cars, driving all around LA for auditions, and waiting for weeks, feeling sick to my stomach that I wasn’t going to get the job I really wanted. The adrenaline rush of it all was so exciting. I don’t know if it’s common, or if you can relate to this, but it kind of feels like you’re perpetually in this loop of anxiety. I hold so much more pressure and weight in my body than I ever did, and I think it’s just kind of the expectation of it all. 

TW: I don’t think it ever goes away. I mean, our experiences are a little different. When I was your age, I was able to hold on to being anonymous a little longer. My fans didn’t really know what I looked like until maybe three projects in. So I was very calculated because I didn’t want to get thrown in, and I wanted to experience life behind the camera. It was a luxury I was able to kind of carve out for myself. But you’re able to handle it with so much grace. I mean, the only advice I can really give you is to stay close to the people who knew you before all this. 

JO: When did you start taking music seriously?

TW: Well, I’ve been recording since I was about 14 or 15, but I didn’t really blow up until my early 20s. But even then, you know, inspired by Daft Punk, I wanted the music to speak for itself, right? When I put music out, nobody knew what I looked like. I was just getting off the street, not quite homeless anymore. I had a day job at American Apparel, and people at my job were playing my music. I had put it out. So, people were playing my music and had no idea that I was standing and working right beside them. So that to me was the validation I needed to quit my job and focus on this 110%. Your fans know this, but I think the audience will be pleasantly surprised by the range of your physical performance [in this film]. We obviously bonded over our mutual love for Isabelle Adjani’s performance in Possession. And look, we agreed that that’d be an important [source] for you. But in one scene, which I don’t know if this was prepared or if you were discovering it in the moment, I think you were able to channel something that I thought was reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin, or Debbie Reynolds.

JO: I just saw an interview clip a couple of days ago about you saying that I genuinely scared you. Is it the same scene?

TW: You scared me a few times in the movie. So the tunnel scene, you scared me. It was a genuine reaction to what you do. Then at the end of the final act, where you’re doing this piece that you rehearsed the day before, we just wanted to experience the magic as the camera was rolling, and you did something where you dropped and you got back up behind the [van]. It’s in rhythm, and you’re kind of harming yourself a little bit. Do you see yourself attracted to more physically demanding roles like that in the future? Whether it be a musical, like Singin’ in the Rain, because you’re a great dancer, or even an action film where it’s very physically demanding.

JO: I can’t dance, but that’s sweet. It’s so funny that you say that it scared you, because there was never one point in the film where I thought, ‘I’m gonna turn in a scary performance’. The conversations with Trey about [my character Anima] were that she’s so earnest, and is genuinely just looking out for Abe, and all of her actions may read one way, but I never once judged her. I wasn’t trying to scare you! (*laughs*)

TW: No! But from his perspective, he is going through something that is very—

JO: Traumatizing. I don’t know what it is about physicality, but I think oftentimes I don’t really know who the character is until I step into their body for the first time. You could just tell with the way that you stand. Wednesday was the first time that I really clocked it. I didn’t like moving or breathing or blinking too much, because it took away from the starkness of her, which kind of made her scary and intimidating. I just did a [Klara and the Sun] with Taika Waititi, where I play this robot, and she’s silly and stupid, and I really looked to Buster Keaton for the physicality of that. It was then that I realized a lot of my performance oftentimes takes place in the way that I carry myself. I think it’s kind of a necessity for a job. Depending on where you’re sitting on your hips, your ribs, and your lungs, you get a different voice, a different inflection, a different way of living. And that’s kind of how I meet characters. I mean, action [films] or something like that would be cool. I don’t know if it’s something that is naturally calling to me.

TW: Is the [upcoming] J.J. Abrams film, an action film?

JO: It’s got a bit of action for sure. I just don’t know how much I’m doing of it. I’ve got a couple action pieces here or there, but I can’t remember the last time I did a job and didn’t get a bruise somewhere. I’m always on the floor, like the scene you’re talking about. I woke up the next day, and I felt like I was in a car accident or something the day before, and I realized it was just because I was flinging myself all around the room, you know? The nature of the job sometimes to get involved [physically].

TW: And emotionally, too, in that moment. So you were talking about your choreography for Wednesday. I read today that Beau Travail was an inspiration for your movement.

JO: Yeah!

TW: That’s incredible! Your inspirations are so niche. I guess my follow up question would be, would you work with someone like Claire Denis, a foreign filmmaker?

JO: I would die. I talked to Reza [Fahim] about working with Claire Denis a million times. She’s one of my favorite directors ever. I remember showing Tim [Burton] the finale, which is probably the best ending [to a film] I’ve ever seen. I showed that to him, and I think he had a heart attack, but he still chose to trust me and let me do what I needed to do. I just love the way that Denis Lavant took breaks in between these random outbursts. So that’s kind of why, in that sequence, I am moving around the room and taking these breaks, because I learned that I could do that so well.

TW: I love that you’re showing Tim Burton film. Would you work with a foreign filmmaker that is making an American film? Does the language barrier ever make you nervous? We’re seeing Rob Pattinson work with Bong Joon Ho [for Mickey 17], which I love that film. But again, it’s a foreign filmmaker making an American film so the tone is different for them. I know you just saw The Wailing, which we both love. Asian filmmakers are able to blend in comedy with very serious topics. I don’t know how well that can translate to Americans. But would you jump two feet in with someone like a Bong Joon Ho? Or would you want to really work with him in trying to land a plane like that?

JO: Of course, I would love to. Bong Joon Ho is one of the greatest working filmmakers today. I think film is kind of like music, in the way that it kind of transcends language. [Even if you] have subtitles, sometimes you just see a scene and you get this pit in your stomach and you don’t even know why. Nobody even has to say anything. It’s the same thing when you hear a certain melody, or a certain sequence of chords. I don’t know that it’s incredibly crucial to a film that people speak the same language. While it would raise a lot of hardships that you wouldn’t typically have to experience, I think our field is in a desperate need of a resurgence of new ideas. Strange ideas that might be coming from foreign countries. I think it’s really inspiring when people from different parts of the world come together and work together, and they somehow collaborate and share this one somewhat universal vision. Now, because you have so many different people’s eyes on it, it also [allows] a different sense of humor, a different sense of depression, a way of living, and [showing] mannerisms that one side of the world isn’t familiar with. That sort of storytelling can be incredibly inspiring and hopeful. I could only imagine that it does the same for an artist. It’s kind of culture shock in a way, which is why we’re so lucky to do the job that we do, because you can do it from all over with anyone.

TW: We’re hungry for originality. I think we’ve seen and heard everything already. You mentioned hearing a [sequence of] chords in a score. For me, my favorite score is the theme from Fargo, where the Coen brothers are showing you something that’s zany and crazy, but then the score reminds you that you’re supposed to feel that this is not a comedy. This is a serious film. Scores elevate the pictures so much. I was excited to learn that you’re a fan of OPN [Oneohtrix Point Never].

JO: I just about died when you texted me [that OPN was scoring Hurry Up Tomorrow].

TW: I was excited. I was really happy that you even knew him. Music plays such a huge role in a lot of your work, and it’s really highlighted in this film. Do you see yourself being an artist in any way?

JO: I used to always think that I have thick skin, but the reason why I do what I do is because I’m sensitive. I don’t think that I have the strength to participate in the music industry. I do think if I ever did make music, it would be under an alias, and I wouldn’t talk about it. I wouldn’t acknowledge it, and it would just be for me. I would love to compose. I need to learn how to play the piano. It’s killing me that I don’t already, but it’s such an important part of a film, and it makes or breaks a premise and a story. I don’t know if it’s because I grew up in a crowded household, or my brain feels crowded, or what it is, but I just love sound. Silence, I’m not as big of a fan of. So I would love to venture into that realm. Even if I didn’t release anything, or I didn’t score a film that I directed.

TW: You’re not a fan of silence?

JO: No, not so much. Every once in a while, I [enjoy it], but [with sounds], there’s something about the atmosphere that it creates. I feel more productive that way. If I sit in silence, I’m left with my thoughts. It’s not even about fear of confrontation with oneself, it’s more so I just get overwhelmed and I can’t focus on things, because— 

TW: Of the boredom. Boredom is the first step to insanity.

JO: The root of all evil, they say.

TW: I want to ask you about The Gallerist. What a cast. I’m a huge fan of everybody involved in this film: Natalie Portman, Da’Vine Joy Randolph is actually family. You know, she was on The Idol with me. Catherine Zeta Jones, legend. How did that come together?

JO: That was a dream. We were doing season two of Wednesday in Ireland. And I got this script in my inbox. And then I called my agents immediately, and I said, ‘When can I meet this director? When is she available? Can I talk to her tomorrow?’ So we did, and then I pretty much had a series of interviews with her. I was going back to back, and I felt like I knew this character like the back of my hand. She’s society ridden. She’s kind of a freak. She lives in this moral gray zone, and maybe she thinks she’s more ethical than she is. So there was something about her that I just found incredibly interesting. 

TW: That’s essentially you without music, right?

JO: (*laughs*) Yeah, exactly. So that’s why I was like, ‘You don’t understand. This is me without music.’ That’s exactly what I told [Cathy Yan].

TW: (*laughs*)

JO: So she hired me, thank god. Every day, I just got to watch these legends work. There was not one person on that set that I hadn’t been inspired by previously. Watching these masters play, it’s totally different from a lot of the things that I’ve seen them do before. You know, for Da’Vine, The Idol and The Holdovers were a bit more serious. But [The Gallerist] is comedy. Natalie Portman is hilarious, and I was so glad that she got to show that side of herself. Sterling K. Brown as well. Everything about it was just such a perfect mix of creative people that I tried to soak in as much of that experience as I possibly could, because it’s so rare that I’m ever in a space like that. I felt like I snuck in and got to be a part of something so big and great, and I’m endlessly inspired by that experience.

TW: Was it nerve-wracking having to lead a cast like that? How do you prepare?

JO: A lot of it is seeing how the people work around you. Cathy Yan is very meticulous and knows exactly what she wants. So we did weeks of rehearsals, a lot of the scenes are oners, which are these long fluid takes, kind of like a play. So we just were working these scenes to the ground, so that when we got there on the day, the only thing that we had to worry about was maybe the lighting, or getting the Steadicam through the crowd of this busy art gallery while this dead body is posted up on a statue. It was more of the chaos that we had to focus on. I felt so lucky to work with people who are so good at what they do that things just kind of flowed. All you could do was to know your lines and know where you’re going to stand, and then the rest was just play. Then everyone was cool to improvise. Use the little space that we had in between certain technical breaks to kind of make each other break or laugh. It just felt like we shot it really quickly. It felt like doing SNL, almost. It was just this, like mess—

TW: Beautiful mess. You and Trey have a potential mutual collaborator. I read somewhere that you’ll be starring in a remake of Single White Female with Taylor Russell.

JO: I would love to do that. We’ve talked about it, and that’s exciting. We met. She’s sweet, and I’m in love with Taylor’s work, and that storyline is so good, and it could exist in such a different way now because of the internet. It’s so much harder to have this stalker who you can’t find in two seconds on Instagram. So you could take this story but then make it something completely new, and to do it with someone like her, I would just die to work with her. That definitely would be a passion of mine, but it’s early. 

TW: I guess my question is which one of you is playing the single white female, because last I checked, neither of you are white.

JO: Then make it Single Female. It was cracking me up when I saw articles [about it], and we hadn’t even had a conversation or anything at that point, so it was like ‘Oh, man, what is this?’. I went through the comments, which I don’t typically do, but people were being stupid in the comments about that. I’m like, ‘Ah, there they go’.

TW: It’s a pretty clickbait type of thing.

JO: Taylor was cracking me up, because she said ‘I guess it’s like Single Mixed Female’ (*laughs*)

TW: Do you guys know who is playing the stalker?

JO: We haven’t gotten that far yet. This is Taylor’s brainchild. She reached out to me, and I actually don’t have clarification. I don’t know what I’m doing. I just know I would happen to be alongside her, and I would be okay with being either one. So it’s up to her, I guess.

TW: I think that is going to be a hit. I think it’s two incredible masters at their craft. Another question I want to ask you, as I found out when we were doing the junkets, you’ve never been to Japan.

JO: That’s true. I’m dying to go.

TW: That’s shocking to me. You did a lot of press for Japan, but you haven’t been there to actually experience Tokyo or any of that.

JO: No, I keep having these opportunities to go, and then something else gets in the way, and it feels dreadful. I would love to go to Japan, but it hasn’t occurred. Ever since I was a kid, you know, you do those international promos a lot for TV. I was just doing them for Wednesday. It’s like “Konnichiwa, Japan”, you say hi to all countries and tell them to watch the show, but yeah, never been.

TW: The DNA of this film is rooted in my travels to Tokyo. Audition is a huge inspiration for this film. I’m going to keep my promise, I’m going to introduce you to Takashi Miike, which would be my dream movie, watching you two make a film together. That’d be incredible.

JO: Can you imagine?

TW: Alright, I think that’s everything I got here.

JO: I think we’re good. I thought that was smooth.

TW: Should I interview more people?

JO: I would rather you spend your time creating than interviewing people, but it was a good conversation, and I appreciate you doing this.

TW: Of course, thank you for having me.

JO: See you soon. Love you.

From V154 Summer 2025 Issue: now available for purchase!

Photography Zoey Grossman

Fashion Anna Trevelyan 

Interview The Weeknd 

Creative Director / Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gan

Hair Bobby Eliot (The Wall Group) using Goldwell

Makeup Raoul Alejandre (CLM) using Dior Beauty Dior Forever Skin Perfect in #1N

Manicure Thuy Nguyen (A-Frame) using Apres Nail

Text Mathias Rosenzweig

Editor Kev Ponce

Production Sophie Meister (Locals Worldwide), Gustavo Hernandez (Locals Worldwide)

Retouching Dtouch NYC

Lighting designer Dominic Rawle

Set Designer Julie Faravel

1st photo assistant Colin Hoefle

2nd photo assistant Jorge Solorzano

Stylist assistant Damien Lloyd, Hannah Demp

Makeup assistant Alisa Yasuda

Production assistant Alaura Wong

Studio Apex Photo Studio