Jenna Ortega.Photo: Felix Cooper
Jenna Ortegasays she is “obsessed with her work” and happily single.
TheScream VIandWednesdaystar spoke about her disdain for relationships — and her fascination with gore —in an interview withEllefor the cover of their April 2023 issue.
“I hate being goo-goo gaga over a boy,” Ortega, 20, shared in the piece. “I think it’s secretly a pride thing. It’s a problem with a lot of female characters, that a lot of them are guy-oriented or what they’re expressing or emoting is based on a guy’s position and a guy’s story.”
“Maybe I am too obsessed with my work, but the idea of relationships stresses me out,” she shared of her thoughts on dating. “And also being that vulnerable with someone and having to get to know someone that well and having someone see you for all that you are …. my brain knows that I don’t need to think about that right now.”
Jenna Ortega.Felix Cooper
As for how she tackled her return toScream VIafter joining the cult horror series' fifth installment, Ortega — who attended the film’s NYC premiere on Monday — noted her excitement for gore. “I have so much respect for the franchise that I didn’t want to do it wrong,” she said. “I wanted to do it justice, but I also didn’t want to be ripping anybody off.”
“I’m definitely the actress who’s like, ‘More blood.’ If I’m going to speak up about anything, or put my two cents in about anything,” Ortega added, noting she prefers a scene “be as crimson as possible.”
Despite the California native’s now legendary goth image and queen of cool, Ortega admitted that she does feel intense pressure to not let anyone down personally or professionally.
“I am so fearful of disappointing the people in my life, or even people in public,” she said. “I want to live up to people’s expectations, which is something that I need to get over, but I’m also scared that, I don’t know, maybe someone will get to know me too well and realize that I’m not all that.”
“The kind words that I hear that they say about me through other people are unbelievable to me, she added. “I feel like just the people in my life see me in a way that I don’t really see myself.”
As similar as she may be to her iconic character, Ortega says there were some different quirks she had to learn (besides epic dance moves). “I had to do things a bit different with my physicality and the way I carried myself. She almost has a social awkwardness,” Ortega said. “So when she does toxic, manipulative things, you know it’s not coming out of malicious intent.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories
“I never want to be pigeonholed, but I have immense respect for the horror genre,” continued Ortega, who also starred inX,Insidious: Chapter Twoprior to theScreamfilms. “It’s incredibly hard for me to turn down a good horror script and I’ve been lucky enough to do a lot of it in recent years.”
As for what’s next? “I don’t know what the future holds,” she said. “I feel like I won’t know it until I see it!”
Scream VIhits theaters Friday.
source: people.com
