Jenna Ortega reckons she once auditioned for a role in Dune.
The Wednesday star said in a new interview that she went in for the role of Chani, which eventually went to Zendaya, in a secret audition when she was 15.
Ortega, who is now 21, told BuzzFeed: “I think it was Chani, I think it was Zendaya’s. But they weren’t saying that, everything was very secret.”
The actress added that she remembers being “really excited” at the audition because director Denis Villeneuve “is one of my favourite filmmakers.”
Along with Zendaya, the critically acclaimed first instalment of the sci-fi series went on to also star Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard and Dave Bautista. Dune: Part Two was released earlier this year.
Ortega is next set to star in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice the follow-up to the 1988 cult classic which comes out in cinemas on September 4. Ortega plays the rebellious Astrid Deetz, the daughter of Winona Ryder’s Lydia, as the Deetz clan return home to Winter River following the death of Charles Deetz.
It sees director Tim Burton, who the actress has worked with on Wednesday, team up once again with Michael Keaton, Ryder and Catherine O’Hara returning alongside newcomers Ortega, Willem Dafoe and Monica Bellucci.
“On Wednesday we were just trying to get to know each other a bit,” Ortega said of her relationship with Burton. “On Beetlejuice … he seemed a lot more playful and I think it actually helped our relationship a lot … it was just a very joyous, happy shoot.”
Ortega recently sparked memories of one of Ryder’s most distinctive Beetlejuice outfits by reinventing the look during a walk through New York City.
She wore a navy blue cardigan with a gold embroidered circle on the chest in tribute to her new co-star, complete with a white blouse and plaid green skirt.
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