Anora's Mark Eydelshteyn Reveals How He Met Jenna Ortega (It Was Very Cinematic)
When Mark Eydelshteyn first met the Wednesday star, he didn't even recognize her. Here is the full story of how the young actor's dream came true.
For young Russian actors Yura Borisov and Mark Eydelshteyn, Anora was a huge breakthrough that paved their way to Hollywood, opening doors to parties and giving them a chance to befriend big Hollywood celebrities — like, in Eydelshteyn's case, Wednesday star Jenna Ortega.
Speaking on the YouTube show Vpiska, Eydelshteyn revealed the story of how he introduced himself to Ortega (not knowing it was her) and how the night unfolded after that.
According to Eydelshteyn, after they finished shooting Anora, and Borisov had already left New York, Mikey Madison invited Mark to the afterparty of the movie Scream. There were a lot of Hollywood stars, as Mark recalls, and he didn’t know how to behave. He said that Mikey immediately vanished in the crowd, and that he even thought that it’s probably time to leave. But then…
Eydelshtein said he saw “a young woman dressed in a leather coat, wearing big headphones and glasses, and she had a flask hanging out [from her pocket].”
Yes, it was Jenna Ortega, but Eydelshteyn will realize that after quite some time. The actor said that he approached Jenna and suggested they use a smoke-break together.
“Some security officer led us [through the hallway], and I didn’t understand why because I had no idea who she was,” Eydelshteyn recalls.
So they were standing outside the party, smoking and enjoying a small talk. Soon, a crowd started to run towards them, and the “Jane Doe” told Mark it was time to leave. When they were eventually leaving the party, joined by Mikey and other people, Mark noticed people with Wednesday posters.
Only then Eydelshteyn realized who he was hanging with.
“The crowd was chanting ‘Jenna! Jenna!’. I looked at them, then back at her, and then I realized it was her,” the actor continued.
The party then moved to another hotel, where Mark had the chance to show Ortega some Russian rap while their small group was hanging out on a hotel roof. According to Mark, they stayed over at Jenna’s room and he had to sleep on the floor. But in the morning, there was a surprise waiting for him.
“I checked my phone, and someone had paused a song on my phone. It was a song by William Basinski. That’s how she shared her song with me,” Eydelshteyn revealed.
What Is Mark Eydelshteyn Famous For?
Mark Eydelshteyn portrayed Ivan, the son of a Russian oligarch, in Anora. The movie also stars Mikey Madison and Yura Borisov. The three of them, as well as the movie and its director Sean Baker were nominated for Oscars. Anora ended up winning Best Picture Award, Mikey Madison got the Best Actress, and Baker won the Best Director Award.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Anora has 93% from critics and 84% from viewers. On IMDb, Anora has 7.5/10. The movie is available to stream on AppleTV+ and Hulu.
