Jenna Ortega recalls kiss with ‘uncomfortable’ Cameron Boyce

Jenna Ortega recalled an “uncomfortable” audition with the late actor Cameron Boyce.

Ortega, who was a teen at the time of the audition along with Boyce, recounted the experience while speaking to her Beetlejuice Beetlejuice co-stars Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara during an interview for French outlet Canal+, via People.

Boyce, who was a friend to the actress at the time, died in his sleep after having a seizure, in 2019 at the age of 20.

“The last time I saw my friend Cameron Boyce — I’d known him since I was like 11 or 12, and we were supposed to kiss [in an audition] and he knew me, since I was 11 or 12,” Ortega shared with her cast mates.

“This is a few years later, 15 or 16, we came in and we were supposed to be love interests. But because he obviously felt weird and he was a bit older, he was like — we both just kinda looked at each other and we were like, ‘No, we can’t do this.'”

“He was so sweet because I was uncomfortable and I was having a hard time,” Ortega added, remarking that she was “really thankful and grateful” that Boyce took a stand in between the audition and prioritised her comfortability over the job.

“And then, we wished each other well,” she said.