Highlights

• Michael Keaton had a great experience working with Jenna Ortega on Beetlejuice 2, despite her reputation.
• Ortega was critical of her role in another project, but Keaton praised her talent and professionalism.
• Keaton's positive view of filming Beetlejuice 2 suggests Ortega's behavior on set was not an issue, despite past comments.

Michael Keaton is the kind of actor who ensures he has the career that he really wants. This means speaking up or making certain decisions that others might be surprised by. Keaton lost a lot of money by turning down Lost and even had some interesting thoughts about Beetlejuice 2 before agreeing to reprise his title role of Betelgeuse in the anticipated sequel.

Michael Keaton co-starred in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with another outspoken actor: Jenna Ortega. The young actress got a lot of attention for criticizing another Tim Burton project: the Netflix series Wednesday. In this article, we'll take a look at what Michael Keaton said about Jenna Ortega's behavior on the Beetlejuice 2 set, along with what her reputation in Hollywood is like.

Michael Keaton Had A Positive Experience Working With Jenna Ortega On Beetlejuice 2 Even Though She Has A Reputation

Before Jenna Ortega starred in Beetlejuice 2, she spoke about being critical of the Wednesday script. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she was interviewed on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast and she wanted to alter certain lines. But even though people were shocked by Ortega's comments and wondered what she was really like on set, Michael Keaton complimented Jenna Ortega.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Keaton said:

"Oh man, she's good, she's just got it, you know? She's got the tone. She showed up and just immediately knew what the tone was and just slipped in like she does every day. She's really special."

After hearing what Ortega said about Wednesday, fans might have expected her to behave similarly when filming Beetlejuice 2. However, Keaton never said anything negative about Ortega and only complimented her acting talent. At the time of this writing, there have been no reports of the actress complaining or having a problem with the screenplay or her character's motivations or actions.

In fact, when Keaton talked about filming Beetlejuice 2, he said it was a genuinely wonderful experience. He never said that the cast didn't get along or that there were any problems at all. In a few interviews, he kept talking about having a good time. He told Empire Magazine that shooting the movie was:

“F**kin’ great. It’s the most fun I’ve had working on a movie in I can’t tell you how long.”

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Keaton also told People that he enjoyed filming Beetlejuice 2 so much but admitted that sometimes, the opposite happens. As A Hollywood veteran, he definitely knows what he's talking about.

Which Stars Have A Reputation For Poor Behavior? (According to Buzzfeed)

• Lea Michele
• Val Kilmer
• Katherine Heigl
• Russell Crowe
• Claudia Schiffer
• Chevy Chase
• Sharon Stone
• Charlie Sheen
• Edward Norton

Keaton said:

“On one hand, you'd go, ‘Well, of course it's the most fun. It looks like fun.’ As you know, it doesn't always work like that,”

How Jenna Ortega's 'Dark Childhood' Launched Her Acting Career

If Michael Keaton didn't like Jenna Ortega or felt that she behaved badly, it's hard to imagine him having such a positive view of his time on the set of the highly-anticipated sequel.

Who Starred In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice And What Characters Did They Play?

• Michael Keaton: Betelgeuse
• Winona Ryder: Lydia Deetz
• Jenna Ortega: Astrid Deetz
• Monica Bellucci: wife of Betelgeuse
• Justin Theroux: Rory
• Willem Dafoe: a detective who is a ghost
• Catherine O'Hara: Delia Deetz

As for Jenna Ortega, she loved filming Beetlejuice 2 and never said anything bad about it. She had kind words for her co-star Winona Ryder. She told E! News, "Winona is just the loveliest, sweetest—just one of my favorite people I think I've ever met. I love her a lot and I felt really grateful to get to know her and work with her—she is just an angel on this planet."

Inside Jenna Ortega's Hollywood Reputation

When speaking to Dax Shepard on his Armchair Expert podcast, Jenna Ortega made it clear that she wasn't a fan of some parts of Wednesday. She didn't like that her character was in a love triangle and felt that the script didn't always reflect how, in her opinion, Wednesday Addams would really behave. Since people were surprised by Ortega's comments, this interview got a lot of attention and some felt that she didn't have the best attitude on set.

Ortega said:

“There was times on that set where I even became almost unprofessional, in a sense, where I just started changing lines."

She added, "The script supervisor thought that I was going with something, and then I would have to sit down with the writers and they would be like, ‘Wait, what happened to the scene?’ And I would have to go through and explain why I couldn’t do certain things. I grew very, very protective of [Wednesday], but you can’t lead a story and have no emotional arc because then it’s boring and nobody likes you.”

Jenna Ortega Didn't Sleep For Two Days Prior To Improvising Wednesday's Most Iconic Scene

After this interview, Steven DeKnight shared his opinion about Ortega and wrote on X that Ortega was "toxic."

"This kind of statement is beyond entitled and toxic. I love her work, but life’s too short to deal with people like this in the business."

Who Is Steven S. DeKnight?

• movie and TV showrunner and producer with decades of experience
• story editor and writer, Buffy The Vampire Slayer
• writer, director, producer, Angel and Daredevil
• writer, director, consulting producer, Dollhouse
• writer, director, Smallville
• showrunner and creator, Spartacus
• showrunner, creator, executive producer, writer, director, Jupiter's Legacy
• director, writer, Pacific Rim: Uprising

He also said, “She’s young, so maybe she doesn’t know any better (but she should). She should also ask herself how she would feel if the showrunners gave an interview and talked about how difficult she was and refused to perform the material.”

Later, according to NME, DeKnight explained that he is a fan of Jenna Ortega but she shouldn't have shared "creative differences" in a public forum.

While Jenna Ortega is no doubt an amazing talent, there's no getting around the fact that her comments about Wednesday got her a lot of negative attention and made people wonder what she is really like to work with.

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