Jenna Ortega Names Which Movie She Regrets Not Getting & It’s Not Surprising

Jenna Ortega opened up about a major audition that slipped through her fingers early in her career. The Wednesday star revealed which acclaimed horror film she tried out for as a kid, explaining why she understood the role was never meant to be hers.

Jenna Ortega talks about Hereditary

Jenna Ortega revealed she auditioned for Ari Aster’s 2018 A24 horror film Hereditary during an appearance on Kid Cudi’s podcast, Big Bro. The 23-year-old Wednesday star told Cudi she recognized the project’s potential despite being only 12 years old at the time. She auditioned for the role of Charlie, the 13-year-old daughter, which ultimately went to Milly Shapiro.

Ortega explained that the audition materials gave little away about the full scope of the film. “I didn’t know what I was looking at and they gave us barely any sides,” she said. “It was like two pages of just ominous words that as a 12-year-old went over the head.” She added that she still sensed the project would be significant despite receiving limited information.

Kid Cudi: "I auditioned for Get Out. I was, [in] one of those situations where I read the script and I knew it was about to go."

Jenna Ortega: "I auditioned for Hereditary … I remember seeing it, looking at it, and thinking, 'I feel like this is an important movie.'"

Kid Cudi… pic.twitter.com/GfR0IWJz78

— Big Bro with Kid Cudi (@bigbrocudi) April 9, 2026

Aster directed Hereditary from his own script, centering the story on a family unraveling after the death of matriarch Ellen, played by Ann Dowd. Toni Collette starred as Annie, Ellen’s daughter, who uncovers disturbing secrets amid a devastating family tragedy. Alex Wolff played Charlie’s older brother, and the film became a landmark entry in modern horror cinema.

Jenna Ortega reveals she nearly quit acting before booking the TV show ‘You’ ?

"It felt like a good time to call it quits. I was starting high school, it was a good run … Then I booked, the show 'You' & I was like, 'There's no way I could let this go.'" pic.twitter.com/jMxwM1Kit7

— Big Bro with Kid Cudi (@bigbrocudi) April 8, 2026

Ortega recalled watching the finished film in theaters and recognizing it as the project she had auditioned for. “I sat up in my chair and I looked at my mom and I said, ‘This is the one that I said was going to be in,'” she shared. She described Hereditary as an “incredible movie” and reflected on the audition with humor and self-awareness.

The actress noted she has always handled rejection well throughout her career. “I never really question it,” Ortega told Cudi. “I didn’t want to get in my head about that sort of thing, and what’s meant to be mine will come to me or, you know, I’ll find somehow.”

Source: Comingsoon.net