Ortego portrayed cowboys, henchmen and American Indians in a large number of westerns and performed horse riding stunts.

[2] His debut was in the role as Moon Face in Bison Motion Pictures' silent western short The Tattoo (1912) opposite Mona Darkfeather and William Bertram.

That was followed by two shorts starring Hoot Gibson, The Driftin' Kid with Gertrude Olmstead, who later credited Ortego with teaching her to perform a flying mount, and The Man Who Woke Up (both 1921).

His final movie appearance was in director Allan Dwan's jungle adventure Escape to Burma (1955) starring Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Ryan for RKO Pictures.

He also made a number of guest appearances on television programs, including roles on The Cisco Kid (1950, 1951 and |1952), The Range Rider (1951), Cowboy G-Men (1953), Hopalong Cassidy (1953) and Maverick (1959).