Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson may be Hollywood’s hottest hunks, and Jennifer Lawrence is a beautiful starlet – but don’t think that they could slack off from their fitness regime while shooting The Hunger Games.
Hutcherson had to do intense training for the role of Peeta, saying: ‘I had to put on weight for the role, which was the biggest thing. I had to build up 15 pounds of muscle and that was done through working out a bunch and eating a lot of chicken and eggs and it was very tiring.’
Hemsworth, meanwhile, had to cut out his normal eating habits, such as going out for calorie-fuelled dates with his girlfriend, Miley Cyrus. ‘There is this place in Nashville called Steak and Shake, which is pretty much the best food, ever. That is our secret, sexy place to go. When I look over at her when she’s biting into a steak sandwich and there is some steak sauce dripping down her chin, there is nothing sexier than that.’
However, after talking to his brother Chris he knew he’d have to cut back while shooting the film. ‘Everyone’s pretty hungry, so I wanted to look a little hungry,’ Hemsworth said. ‘My brother said to me before I started shooting something about me putting on weight. Basically his point was that it was called “Hunger Games”, not “Eating Games”. That was a wake-up call. I was like: “Are you calling me fat or something?”’
Jennifer Lawrence was no stranger, however, to a gruelling fitness regime after working on X-Men: First Class. ‘The training was very different. Katniss’s is a lot more fun; the X-Men training was two gruelling hours every day. I was lifting a lot of weights and I actually lost a lot of mass when I finished X-Men, because I was working out so much and was very muscular and strong. But The Hunger Games is more fun. It’s running and jumping and rock climbing and combat, and all these really cool things. It’s longer, like four hours a day, but I don’t realise that I’m working… until I pass out! Also, with The Hunger Games I need to be smaller and thinner. I do need to be as strong, but my character’s younger. Strong arms are something that comes with age, so that had to be taken down a little bit.’
A bright career is destined for the main cast of The Hunger Games.
Josh Hutcherson has two successful franchises under his belt – the Journey films and The Hunger Games, and he can’t wait to make future instalments for both of them. ‘I won’t be starting again on the next part of The Hunger Games trilogy until the summer or autumn, so I have a little time to do something. I’m not a big TV guy, though. I like doing movies. I’d be up for another Journey, but I’d have to see what kind of journey. It’d be cool to go to the moon. I don’t know how it would work technically – lunar gravity would be a challenge – but it would be cool.’
Lawrence will star next in The Silver Linings Playbook, a touching, one-of-a-kind comedy about love and second chances adapted from the best-selling novel by Matthew Quick.
The official synopsis is thus: ‘Pat Peoples (Bradley Cooper) is a man always trying to look on the bright side of life – the title of the story takes it’s name from the expression that ‘every cloud has a silver lining’. Released from the hospital after losing his wife to another man, Pat believes this age-old adage is just the ticket to trying to win her back and get his life on track. Trying to remain resolutely undiscouraged, Pat moves back in with his parents and devotes himself entirely to becoming the man his wife always wanted him to be. But it’s an uphill battle. Until Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a beautiful young woman whose life also has not turned out the way she wanted. Together, the couple will try and navigate through their lives and stay true to who they are, always just one adventure away from a unique friendship, and possibly even love.’
Hemsworth will be seen in The Expendables sequel and blockbuster Arabian Nights – the latter of which he explained: ‘It’s about a young commander of an army, who I play. His king gets killed and he has to go off and he ends up teaming with the character Sinbad. My character asks him if he’ll come back and defend his kingdom, and they come back. There’s some really dark bad guys there and it’s an epic film.’
As for Suzanne Collins, she remarked: ‘I have a few seeds of ideas floating around in my head but it will probably be a while before one fully emerges and I can begin to develop it.’
One thing is certain for the stars of The Hunger Games – their life changed the minute they signed up for the film. The anticipation for the movie was massive, and that’s before the film attracted even more fans.
Lawrence was canny enough to know how much this role would change her life, and thought long and hard before accepting it. ‘I think the quick fame is scarier because I don’t really work a computer, so I don’t ever read comments,’ she said. ‘That never really scares me, what people think. If I read them, it would scare the hell out of me. What does worry me is how important these things are, and I don’t want to offend or disappoint anyone. It’s scary, when you think of these huge fan bases behind them and you think you’re holding these characters that a lot of people are going to put a lot of weight into. So, like I said, the really scary part is quick fame.’
Asked what might happen if The Hunger Games becomes the new Twilight, Hutcherson told Total Film: ‘I’m terrified of what my life could become. As an actor, everyone hopes one day to be that well known, but at the same time to be thrust into it instantaneously is overwhelming. If it does happen, I’ll be grateful and terrified at the same time.’
Hemsworth dismissed comparisons to Twilight, saying: ‘The only was it’s similar to Twilight is that it does have this huge fan base. But it’s a very different story. It’s about freedom and family and survival and standing up for what you believe in. It’s not presented in a sexy way or anything like that. But yeah, if it does well, it’s a bonus.’