Hunger Games Casting Hit or Miss

Yesterday I promised that I would share my opinion on the all important casting for the upcoming Hunger Games films. Having read the books, in the knowledge of who has been cast, I am probably in a very different position to most fans, who have read the books conjured up this image of each character in their heads, and then been forced to accept the castings. I actually checked out the casting when I was roughly half way through the first book, and initially I had huge reservations about some choices, but I'll share my thoughts anyway :)

Katniss Everdeen

Initial Thoughts: It's difficult to say what my initial thoughts regarding what Katniss would look like, are, because even before I started reading the trilogy, I knew who had been cast in the role, purely because I'm one of those film nuts, who has to know what other films actors have done, and since I'd recently seen her in X Men, I already knew that Jennifer Lawrence had been cast in the lead role for this film.

Jennifer Lawrence: On initial appearances, Lawrence doesn't entirely fit the bill, but only because she is more commonly known to be blonde, and I pictured Katniss is being dark-haired. But, as we have seen from the recent posters and teasers, anyone can dye their hair, and she most definitely looks the part.

But, the main reason that I have immense confidence in Lawrence, in playing this role well, was seeing her play Mystique in X Men: First Class, because Mystique showed quite a few personality traits that I felt were perfect for the role of Katniss.

• Feisty


• Passionate


• An innate ability to listen to something, take it in, and then do as she damn pleases


• Vulnerability

What you might know her from:

• Raven/Mystique in X Men: First Class


• Ree in Winters Bone


• Norah in The Beaver

At one point I worried that she wouldn't have any chemistry with her co-star playing Peeta, but then I remembered the unusual chemistry between her and Nicholas Hoult's character in X Men, and I felt a lot different about it.

Peeta Mellark

Initial Thoughts: My first thought of Peeta was of this incredibly vulnerable guy, who I didn't imagine to be that strong, and he was probably a bit geeky looking, especially compared to the character of Gale, who I imagined to be the cooler one.

Josh Hutcherson: The first time I ever encountered Hutcherson in a film, I'd say he was about ten years old, and even though I've seen him in a fair few things since then, I still imagine him as this really young kid, who I could not imagine in this role at all. I'm not saying that I didn't like him as an actor, I just questioned his suitability to the role.

Of course, I've deliberately chosen a picture of him looking really young, but I just wanted to emphasise where I was coming from, and seeing this picture just makes him look like a younger brother. And yes, I know he's older now, but this is the Hutcherson that I had in my head whilst reading the books.

It wasn't until I saw the front cover of Entertainment Weekly, which showed a. how grown up he now is, and b. how beefed up he's gotten for the role, that I really began to see Hutcherson perfectly in this role.

I know that my initial thoughts were that Peeta would be weak and skinny, but Chris pointed out the fact that Peeta is a Baker's son who probably spent his days hefting flour bags all over the place, and kneading dough must do a lot for your arms, so it's no surprise that he would be "well-built". It also made me question why I'd considered him, especially in the first book, to be a vulnerable character, but without giving anything away, I've definitely seen Peeta in a very different light.

What you might know him from: 

• Carl in RV


• Jess in Bridge to Terabithia


• Markl (voice) in Howl's Moving Castle (I LOVE this film!!)


• Walter in Zathura

Gale Hawthorne

Initial Thoughts: Being a hunter, and in effect, the breadwinner of his family, I always imagined that Gale would be well-built and tough. He definitely came across, to me, as a fighter who could most definitely stand up for himself. This is perhaps more evident in the second and third books.

Unfortunately, his brief appearance in the first book didn't really give me much opportunity to get a good idea of what he would look like, until I found out who had been cast, and I started imagining him in the role!

Liam Hemsworth: You might be able to guess from his surname, but playing Gale is the little brother of Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, although I personally don't think that they look anything alike at all. However, the idea that he is Chris' little brother left me in no doubt, in my own mind, that he was the perfect casting.

Personally, I haven't seen Liam in anything, so I can't judge his acting ability, but on appearances alone, he is definitely a good choice. I'm just going to hope that he has his brother's talent for acting too.

What you might know him from:

• Being the younger brother of Chris Hemsworth (Home and Away, Thor, Star Trek) of course


• Dating Miley Cyrus (I think you probably have a good idea who she is!!!)


• Josh Taylor in Neighbours (I had to do research into this character, and I still have no idea who he is. I assume that I wasn't watching Neighbours when he was in it, as I did miss a lot of the show, when it moved over to Channel 5!)

So, as you might be able to tell, despite initial reservations, I am feeling quite satisfied with the main three castings, but we'll have to wait until trailers start filtering around, to get a better idea of how they are going to perform.

What do you think of these three castings? Do you think they were the right choice, or do you think other actors might have been better suited?