Jenna Ortega recalls ‘sweet’ moment during audition with the late Cameron Boyce

Jenna Ortega reflects on her touching final moments with the late Cameron Boyce.

The 21-year-old actress was a rising star on the Disney Channel at the same time as Boyce. In a recent interview with French television channel Canal+, she told a story about her Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Her co-stars Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara about the last time she saw Boyce.

“The last time I saw my friend Cameron Boyce – I knew him since I was 11 or 12 – and we were supposed to kiss [in an audition] and he knew me since I was 11 or 12. That came a few years later, when I was 15, 16, we were supposed to be lovers,” Ortega said in a clip posted on X (formerly Twitter) about the late actor, who died in his sleep in 2019 after an epileptic seizure.

“But because he was obviously feeling weird and was a little older, he was like — we both just looked at each other and thought, 'No, we can't do this,'” Ortega recalled. “And it was so sweet because I was uncomfortable and I was having a hard time. … And then we wished each other well.”

Ortega added that she was “really glad and grateful” that Boyce stepped in during the audition and voiced the weirdness she was feeling, and O'Hara called him a “gentleman” for doing so, which Ortega agreed with.

Boyce died in July 2019 when he was just 20 years old, and in June, at the annual “Cam For A Cause” fundraiser for the Cameron Boyce Foundation, his parents Libby and Victor Boyce told PEOPLE that it “means everything” to them that fans and his friends continue to remember the actor.

“All of his fans, all of his supporters keep his legacy alive,” Victor said. “People still want to keep him. They don't want him gone.”

Libby described the event as “a reminder of what a wonderful soul we gave birth to and raised,” and admitted that her late son's 25th birthday in particular was “very bittersweet.”

“It was a very difficult day, but it was also very nice to see what he meant to so many people.”

Like Ortega, other Disney stars have paid tribute to Boyce's kindness. On his 25th birthday, Sofia Carson called him “our angel” and wrote, “I miss your smile and sunshine especially today.”

Skai Jackson, his former Jessie co-star, wrote, “I will never forget you,” as she shared a sweet photo of the two hugging.

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China Anne McClain also recently reflected on the loss of Boyce, telling PEOPLE in a statement that she was “concerned that progeny world because losing Cam was the first heartbreak I've ever experienced.”

For the actress, however, it was ultimately “very fulfilling and healing.” “Seeing how excited the new generation of kids was reminded me of myself when we made the original films. Everything fit together beautifully.”