Jenna Ortega gets candid about her ‘weird’ friendship with Winona Ryder

Jenna Ortega gets candid about her “weird” friendship with Winona Ryder.

In a new interview with The New York Times’ The Interview podcast, Ortega called Beetlejuice Beetleuice co-star Ryder her “mentor” figure.

“She was so warm and welcoming and kind and inviting right from the jump, and I couldn’t be more grateful,” said the 21-year-old, who plays her on-screen mother in the upcoming movie.

The Wednesday star stated, “It was at a time where my career was taking a different turn.”

“I didn’t realise that I needed that from somebody who could relate, but I did,” she told the outlet.

Reflecting on her connection with Ryder, Ortega mentioned, “The way Winona and I got along was quite weird. It was like we were reading each other’s minds a little bit.”

“She just made me feel really, really beautiful and special,” noted the actress.

Ortega continued, “And that was, again, during that time, it meant the world to me.”

While discussing about her time with Ryder, the Miller’s Girl actress explained, “It was a very transformative period of my life. We shot Beetlejuice not that long after Wednesday had come out, so one day I just woke up in somebody else’s shoes.”

“I felt like I had entered somebody else’s life, and I didn’t know how to get back to mine,” she further said.

Ortega pointed out, “Obviously with the success and the attention that she received in the ’90s, Winona had experienced that probably to an even greater extent, so she was the first person that I connected with on that topic.”

“Or she made me feel seen where other people necessarily in my life, as much as they wanted to, couldn’t relate or couldn’t understand,” she added.

Meanwhile, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is slated to release in theatres on September 6.