Speaking on the TODAY show, Jenna Ortega revealed some information about how she got involved with the upcoming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and what has led her to pursue so many horror roles in general.
With a crowd of fans watching the interview from outside the studio in order to get a glimpse at the star, she recalled how she landed the role.
Ortega said: “It was an immediate yes. There was pressure, there was maybe five minutes of hesitation, but Tim (Burton) really threw me off guard when he told me the news. I didn’t know what to do with it.
“He gave me the script, I pulled over on the side of the road and read it as soon as I possibly could. So within two hours I called my team and said, ‘I can’t tell you what this is about, but just know that I’m doing another job with Tim’.”
Ortega gushed about her co-stars: “I never thought I was going to be able to work with Michael Keaton and Monica Bellucci, Winona Ryder – all these incredible people – Willem Dafoe.
“To be connecting with them on a job as special as Beetlejuice and as inspirational and inventive as Beetlejuice, seeing Michael (Keaton) as Beetlejuice in person, it was unbelievable.”
She also shared more about her journey into horror stardom: “When I was younger I was scared of everything – the dark, I was scared of Beetlejuice, I loved the gremlins but I hated them at the same time – so I was always very confused.
“But as I got older I realised that excitement is the same as fear, so it’s like when I’m scared, I can just tell myself I’m excited. And you can do the same vice versa but I just try to place it somewhere else because I hated being scared all the time.”
Ortega went on to discuss how her family, particularly her mother, have supported her career and help to keep her grounded in the full interview with you can watch here. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice releases in cinemas on September 6.