Jenna Ortega Reveals She Auditioned for ‘Hereditary’ When She Was Just 12 Years Old

Jenna Ortega is already widely considered one of the reigning scream queens of her generation, but she recently revealed there was another popular horror movie she almost starred in.

The actress stopped by Kid Cudi’s new podcast, Big Bro With Kid Cudi, on Wednesday, April 8, becoming the recording artist’s second guest after his interview with Kylie Jenner last week. There, the two former costars—having previously appeared in A24’s 2022 film X together—chatted about an array of topics, eventually landing on the movie roles that they auditioned for throughout their career, but “missed out on” for one reason or another.

Ortega opens up about her “what ifs”

In the clip, Kid Cudi asked the actress if she had any roles she might have “really wanted to get” but ultimately didn’t. Ortega started by stating she’s always taken rejection well, as she cares more about “whatever suits the project best.” Thinking for a moment, she then revealed that she was sent the script for what would become a cult-favorite horror movie when she was just 12 years old.

“I didn’t understand it when I came in, but I think I auditioned for Hereditary, which obviously wouldn’t have made any sense for my disposition as a kid,” she told the host, adding, “And I didn’t know what I was looking at. They gave us barely any sides. It was like two pages of just ominous words that, as a 12-year-old, kind of went over my head. But I remember seeing it, looking at it, and thinking, ‘I feel like this is an important movie.’”

She went on to say that she and her mother actually went to see the film when it was released in theaters without realizing it was the one she’d auditioned for, joking that she told her mother, “‘This is one that I said was gonna be important!’” Kid Cudi also shared his own answer to the question, revealing that he’d auditioned for Get Out with Jordan Peele, with the lead role ultimately going to Daniel Kaluuya.

Ortega’s “big sis” in Hollywood

As the title of the podcast suggests, the two also discussed who Ortega currently considers the “big bro or big sis” in her career. Without pause, the actress answered with a genuinely iconic list of names.

“Natalie Portman is someone who always checks in on me, ” Ortega stated. “Winona Ryder is another really big one for me. Catherine Zeta-Jones is really wonderful to me and very protective. But all of those women—obviously, [I] admire them so much. They’re gems, but also just really good people.”