The Denzel Washington movie that “changed the course” of Jenna Ortega’s existence
Based on the sheer number of views that each new season of Wednesday gets, Jenna Ortega may be the most recognisable young star for Generation Z. Wednesday is a pretty soapy take on a gothic horror classic, but it was a brutal action thriller that made Ortega want to start acting.
Even if the market for theatrical films isn’t what it once was, horror cinema is booming like never before. To the generation that became obsessed with slasher movies like X and the modern Scream sequels, Jenna Ortega is the definitive “final girl” and occupies the role that an actress like Jamie Lee Curtis would have had for audiences in the ‘70s.
Despite the relative brevity of her career, Ortega has worked with a fair number of horror legends. She not only got passed the torch from Sidney Prescott herself, Neve Campbell, in 2022’s Scream, but also worked with one of horror’s maestros when Tim Burton helmed several episodes of Wednesday. It wouldn’t be out of line to assume that Ortega has always been a horror buff, but her inspiration for acting was actually one of the 21st century’s definitive revenge films.
Man on Fire was one of five films that Denzel Washington made with director Tony Scott, and likely the most iconic; Washington may have already had two Academy Awards on his résumé by the time that he signed on to play the former CIA operative John W Creasy, but Man on Fire proved him to be a ruthless action star worthy of Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, or John Wayne.
To be fair, there aren’t many young actors who don’t cite Washington as an inspiration, considering that he’s been consistently successful for around four decades. However, it wasn’t Washington who impressed Ortega in Man on Fire, as it was his young co-star who blew her away. In one of her earliest roles, Dakota Fanning played the young girl Lupita, who Creasey is charged with protecting. To Ortega, the concept that a nine-year-old could give such a riveting performance had her thinking about her own career prospects.
“I’m so appreciative of my six-year-old self who wanted to be a president and an astronaut,” she told Vanity Fair. “I realise now that I was always looking for a way out.”
It was after a few obsessive viewings of Man on Fire that Ortega began performing her own dramatic monologues, which helped to get her auditions in Los Angeles, which was a six-hour round trip from her family’s home in Oregon. Although she admitted that she didn’t know how her family friend was “still standing” after the laborious trips, Ortega didn’t take long to make an impact on casting directors; not many actors can say that they appeared in a Marvel movie, a blockbuster horror sequel, and multiple hit sitcoms before turning 18.
Compared to many of the other young stars within her age bracket, Ortega seems to have a genuine interest in classic cinema; while Man on Fire would be at least considered a “cult classic”, she’s cited her admiration of Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander and Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire. It’s become a bit frustrating to see someone of Ortega’s talents waste her time appearing in critically reviled disasters like Hurry Up Tomorrow and Miller’s Girl; if she wants to turn her career around, a collaboration with Washington might not be a bad idea.
