“I didn’t feel like I was reading this kind of thriller-action-cool-badass character. I felt like I was reading this dramatic, beautiful story, and that it was kind of this terrible reflection on humanity and society,” said 21-year-old actress Jennifer Lawrence.
Like millions of readers, Lawrence connected deeply with The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins’ dystopian trilogy that tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, who struggles to survive in a fight to the death against 23 other kids for the ruling class’ entertainment.
But Lawrence, unlike other readers, has a unique connection to The Hunger Games: she stars as Everdeen in the upcoming film adaptaion.
Lawrence has risen to fame at an astronomical rate over the past several years. After arriving on the scene with an Oscar-nominated performance in Winter’s Bone, she starred in the successful X-Men: First Class as the shape-shifting Mystique.
Now Lawrence faces a whole new level of fame. She is the face of a movie projected by movie industry analysts to pull in over $100 million domestically in its opening weekend on March 23, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“I guess it’s always felt like my job and just recently it’s kind of exploded so much,” said Lawrence. “In a lot of ways, it’s like, ‘Oh, you just got promoted,’ and you know nobody ever regrets getting a promotion from their job.”
The Hunger Games is a heavy-duty action movie, so Lawrence spent time learning and preparing to do every stunt, time and safety permitting, so she could perform many of her own stunts. She also learned archery and climbing during the course of filming.
The Hunger Games was not only physically challenging, but also the first time Lawrence had ever “been a part of a film that was so famous before it even began, and that was so weird.”
Lawrence knew about the popularity of the book series going into the film and the expectations that come with that popularity. She said the she and her fellow cast members had to ignore those expectations and just focus on making a movie.
“I had to film the movie like I would any other movie, and do my job the same as I’ve always done and listen to my instincts and my director,” said Lawrence. “You can’t let those things get in your head, because then you have everyone’s voices in your mind except your own.”
Lawrence admires Everdeen for the message she can send to young girls and all people as a strong leader who “fights for what she believes in.”
“I’m happy that her integrity is intact from the books. She’s a character that I look up to, and that I love, in these books that I love, and I’m just happy to be a part of it,” she added.
Lawrence recognizes that after The Hunger Games is released, her life will never be the same again.
“It’s life-changing and it’s weird,” she said, “but I’m happy that it’s happening when it is.”
Daniel Krane can be contacted at [email protected].
