Even though Ortega’s character was only in “You” for a single season, landing the part restored the actress’ faith in the casting process.
“A lot of times being a child actor, especially a Latina, they’re hiring to play the daughter of someone or the younger version of someone and those are typically white actresses,” she explained to Complex. “I remember just being really discouraged at a point in time. But after doing projects like ‘You’ on Netflix and things like that where I think people saw me in an older light or in a different light, I started to get more opportunities.”
“You” marked Ortega’s transition from a child actor to a teen star, a fitting stepping stone into more mature characters to come. As for whether or not series lead Penn Badgley would want Ortega back on the cast, the actor isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
“I mean the truth is they [Netflix] would have to pay up,” he admitted in an interview with Metro. “She’s got that ‘Wednesday’ money now. You got to talk to Netflix. They can’t take it from me either, because we’re talking season 5 now Netflix! That would be great obviously, that would be so amazing. I don’t know that it’s going to happen. We’ll see.”
So, the only thing that might stand in the way of Ortega’s return to the “You” set is her busy schedule. The good news is that if fans of the thriller series don’t get her back on the show, they can still watch her in her multitude of other projects. Still, it would be nice to see Ellie make a return to the show. But if she were to come back, how exactly would she fit into Joe’s new life?
