Jenna Ortega thinks she had a 'secret' audition for Dune
'Wednesday' and 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' actress Jenna Ortega believes she had a "secret" audition for Zendaya's role of Chani in 'Dune'.
Jenna Ortega thinks she had a "very secret" audition for 'Dune'.
The 21-year-old actress has revealed she once had a mysterious read for a role for what she believes was Chani in Denis Villeneuve's big screen adaptation of Frank Herbert's iconic 1965 sci-fi novel.
Asked to name a role "people would be surprised" she auditioned for, she told Buzzfeed: "I think I auditioned for 'Dune' when I was about 15.
"I remember being a big fan of that film and that franchise and everything like that and being really excited for that interview because Denis is one of my favourite filmmakers.”
The 'Wednesday' star thinks the part she was reading for was Chani, which eventually went to Zendaya.
She added: "I think it was Chani. I think it was Zendaya’s. But they weren’t saying that. Everything was very secret.”
Zendaya, 27, was reportedly cast in January 2019, while Timothee Chalamet, 28, plays her love interest Paul Atreides.
Jenna has been working in film and television since she was a child, and she recently admitted "there's times I regret" becoming an actress so young.
However, she told the New York Times newspaper: "My mother had seen the way that other children maybe weren’t protected or weren’t as looked after.
“She watched over me like a hawk, so I think for her, it was more empathizing and wishing she somehow could have done something to help.
"She just called me saying she was so grateful that things were OK and that she was there to witness everything.”
Thanks to the support she had from her mother, Jenna has admitted she "wouldn't change anything" about her career.
She first rose to fame a decade ago in the titular role of comedy drama series 'Jane The Virgin', before roles in the likes of 'Stuck in the Middle', 'You' and 'Yes Day', before moving onto projects like 'The Fallout', 'Wednesday' and 'Scream'.
