Jenna Ortega opens up about ‘weird’ connection with Winona Ryder

LOS ANGELES: Hollywood stars Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder’s relationship is quite unusual, akin to their ‘Beetlejuice’ characters.

Jenna Ortega recently opened up about meeting Ryder, 52, while starring in the 1988 film’s long-awaited sequel, ‘Beetlejuice’, reports ‘People’ magazine.

The actress appeared in The New York Times' ‘The Interview’ podcast, and told the host Lulu Garcia-Navarro that she has “been really, really lucky to work with incredible actresses who definitely had a harder upbringing”.

As per ‘People’, the ‘Wednesday’ star shared that one of these “mentor” figures was none other than her ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ co-star, Ryder.

“She was so warm and welcoming and kind and inviting right from the jump, and I couldn’t be more grateful”, Ortega said of Ryder, who plays her on-screen mom in the upcoming film.

“It was at a time where my career was taking a different turn”, Ortega continued, adding that she “didn’t realise that I needed that from somebody who could relate, but I did”.

She also reflected on how they connected right out of the gate, as she said, “The way Winona and I got along was quite weird. It was like we were reading each other’s minds a little bit”.

While the actress didn’t reveal any of the advice Ryder shared with her — telling Garcia-Navarro that “it’s hard to pinpoint because I think some of it I would like to keep between us", she did provide one sweet tidbit about her friendship with the veteran actress.

“She just made me feel really, really beautiful and special,” Ortega said, before underscoring just how crucial Ryder’s support really was: “And that was, again, during that time, it meant the world to me”.

When asked why “that time”, the period in which she met Ryder — was so pivotal, Ortega explained that it was a very transformative period of her life.