Jenna Ortega has revealed she auditioned for a role in the sci-fi epic Dune when she was still a teenager.
And not just that – the Wednesday star has admitted she thinks she was at one point in the running to play Zendaya’s character, Chani.
During a recent interview with BuzzFeed, the Emmy nominee was asked if she’d ever gone out for any roles that people would be “surprised” to hear about.
“I think I auditioned for Dune when I was about 15,” the now-21-year-old recalled. “I remember just being a big fan of that film and the franchise and everything like that. And being really excited for that because Denis [Villeneuve] is one of my favourite filmmakers.”
Pressed on the audition, Jenna added: “I think it was Chani, I think it was Zendaya’s [character]... but they weren’t saying that. Everything was very secret.”
As we now know, the role of Chandi wound up going to the Euphoria star, who appeared in the film alongside Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson and Dave Bautista.
The sequel Dune: Part Two was released earlier this year, adding even more big names to its already-star-studded cast, most notably Oscar nominees Florence Pugh and Austin Butler, as well as Anya Taylor-Joy.
Jenna will next be seen in action in the new movie Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which reunites her with Wednesday director Tim Burton, as well as members of the original film’s cast like Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara and, of course, Michael Keaton.
She also made a cameo in Sabrina Carpenter’s surprisingly violent new music video for the US star’s single Taste.
