A former child star has disclosed the extreme measures they took to try to secure the lead role in The Hunger Games film franchise. Alyson Stoner, 31, who rose to fame as a Disney Channel host and appeared in shows such as The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and That's So Raven, details their experience in an upcoming memoir.
In an excerpt published by Vanity Fair, Stoner, who uses they/them pronouns, writes that they attended a 'world-renowned medical weight loss camp' to prepare for the audition for Katniss Everdeen. At the time, Stoner was 17 and already severely underweight, but the programme involved two weeks of seven hours of daily exercise on a calorie deficit.
Stoner, who was a background dancer for Missy Elliott and Eminem, says they were approved for the camp despite their condition. They criticised the doctors and trainers who permitted an underweight minor to undergo such intense physical activity. Stoner also revealed that at age 10, a doctor covered up a heart murmur to allow them to continue working, ignoring dizzy spells and blackouts.
Despite their efforts, the role of Katniss Everdeen went to Jennifer Lawrence. Director Gary Ross called Lawrence the 'easiest casting decision I ever made in my life'. After the audition, Stoner experienced a 'full-body emergency alarm for food' and binged, then sat 'with vacant eyes' upon learning they had not been cast.
Stoner's memoir, Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything, is due for release on August 12. The first Hunger Games film, released in 2012, grossed $695.2 million worldwide.
