Wednesdaystar Jenna Ortega has recently revealed which childhood horror film gave her nightmares as a kid, setting her on the path to her recent success in becoming one of Hollywood’s newest sought-after scream queens.
Ortega, who has starred in recent horror hits like the latestScreamandX, stars in one ofNetflix’s most popular streaming series right now. Tim Burton’sWednesdaystars Ortega as the title character,taking over the role from Christina Ricci, who last portrayed Wednesday Addams inThe Addams FamilyandAddams Family Valuesin the 1990s.
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During an interview withELLE, Ortega noted that her love of horror might stem from an early experience with the 1980shorror classicChild’s Play. The original film and its villainous Chucky doll have spawned multiple sequels, a popular recent SyFy network series,Chucky, and a 2019 remake of the original. The original in the franchise is not only a centerpiece of the creepy, murderous doll genre but a particularly glorious and bloody slasher movie. “I think the first scary movie I watched or at least saw part of before I ran away in fear wasChild’s Play, I wanna say,” Ortega said. “My older siblings and my Tio were watching and I asked if I could watch the movie with them ‘cause I loved movies, and they said, ‘no, you’re gonna be too scared.'”
Catching a glimpse ofChild’s Playgave the actress nightmares for years and left her rattled as a child. “They sent me to my room, and I remember peeking around the corner of my hallway to watch the film, and I literally only saw his hand,” she recalls. “I screamed in terror ‘cause I knew he was this murderous doll, and then every year I would have a nightmare about a hand up until I was about 15."
Ortega’s childhood experience, however, apparently kindled an interest in horror and horror roles that has persisted into adulthood. Not only has Ortega taken on the coveted role of Wednesday Addams, but she is also set to reprise her role in a sequel toScreamnext year.
WithWednesday’s success and Ortega’s sought-out status in Hollywood, the 20-year-old actress is already on the path to joining other classic scream queens like Jamie Lee Curtis and Neve Campbell in the horror cannon.The traumatic influence ofChild’s Playon the actress has no doubt set in motion a lifelong fascination with horror that will only lead to her choosing more great horror roles in the future.
