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Jenna Ortega has shared how the late actor Cameron Boyce supported her during a difficult audition when they were teenagers.
The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice actor, 21, who recently caused controversy by claiming she liked to play “weird” characters, was close friends with the Descendants star who died aged 20 due to an epilepsy-related medical condition in 2019.
Ortega revealed the “uncomfortable” audition was the last time she ever saw Boyce before his fatal seizure, during which he stood up for her and was a “gentleman”.
Speaking to the French outlet Canal+, Ortega said: “The last time I saw my friend Cameron Boyce — I’d known him since I was like 11 or 12, and we were supposed to kiss.”
The Stuck in the Middle star continued: “This is a few years later, 15, 16. [He] came in, we were supposed to be love interests. But because he obviously felt weird and he was a bit older, he was like — we both just kinda looked at each other and we were like, ‘No, we can’t do this.’”
She added: “And it was so sweet because I was uncomfortable and I was having a hard time at the audition. And then, we wished each other well.
“I remember being really thankful and grateful that he did that.”
A year after the young actor’s death, William Coakley’s 2020 indie thriller starring Boyce was released posthumously.
The Descendants star had previously been known for lighthearted Disney roles and the film was set to mark his pivot into more adult material.
“He wanted to dig into a character that could really challenge him because the whole Disney formula had gotten very, you know, it wasn’t challenging anymore to him,” his mother Libby told The Hollywood Reporter. “Runt [has] a lot of dark issues.”
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It comes shortly after Ortega, who plays antisocial teenager Astrid Deetz, in the new Beetlejuice sequel directed by Tim Burton shared her enthusiasm for representing “weird” people on screen.
Ortega told the BBC that she is drawn to roles that are: “People who feel a little bit weird or feel like they stick out a little bit more in a crowd, or it’s hard for them to relate to people.”
Although her comments appeared well-intentioned it caused some to take offence at her calling people “weird”.
“You are weird if you [are] unattractive and quirky if you are attractive,” one person responded, as some accused Ortega of being a “mega-rich Hollywood star trading on weird”.
Others were happy for Ortega to represent them as they wrote, “As a weird person myself, I approve Jenna endorsing us”.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is out in cinemas now
