Jenna Ortega Recalls “Sweet” Audition Experience With Late Cameron Boyce

Five years after his death, Jenna Ortega is recalling a sweet moment with the her late friend Cameron Boyce from early in their careers.

The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star recently reminisced about a moment when he stepped in during an “uncomfortable” audition they had when they were both teenagers, before Boyce died at age 20 when he suffered an epileptic seizure.

“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,” she said of the audition in an interview with France’s Canal+. “And he knew me, since I was 11 or 12. This was a few years later, 15, 16, [he] came in, we were supposed to be love interests.

“But because he obviously felt weird and he was a bit older … we both just kinda looked at each other and we were like, ‘No, we can’t do this.’ And it was so sweet because I was uncomfortable and I was having a hard time in the audition. And then, we wished each other well.

“I remember being really thankful and grateful that he did that,” added Ortega. Her Beetlejuice co-star Catherine O’Hara called Boyce a “gentleman” for the move, to which Ortega agreed.

Boyce — who was known for his roles in Grown Ups, Jessie, Descendants and Mrs. Fletcher — died in his sleep on July 6, 2019. His family noted at the time that his death was caused by “an ongoing medical condition,” which was later revealed to be epilepsy.

“It is with a profoundly heavy heart that we report that this morning we lost Cameron,” a family rep said in a statement. “He passed away in his sleep due to a seizure which was a result of an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated. The world is now undoubtedly without one of its brightest lights, but his spirit will live on through the kindness and compassion of all who knew and loved him.

“We are utterly heartbroken and ask for privacy during this immensely difficult time as we grieve the loss of our precious son and brother,” they added.

Boyce’s family started the Cameron Boyce Foundation in his honor, aiming to cure epilepsy by funding research, education and awareness campaigns.