Josh Hutcherson has revealed that he felt "resentful" when skyrocketing to fame in the Hunger Games franchise. The American actor, 33, starred alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth in the 2012 science fiction dystopian film.
Reflecting on the intense spotlight, he said: "For a long time, I was resentful toward it, because I didn't want that kind of attention." Speaking to his former co-star Elizabeth Banks for Variety's Actors on Actors, he added: "So I was chip-on-my-shoulder angry about it. With years of perspective, I have grown to appreciate it so much."
When asked about the upcoming sixth movie in the franchise, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which will star Joseph Zada and Mckenna Grace, he said the book it is based on was "amazing." He noted: "It's cool to see it continue with a different generation and different stories. Unfortunately, it's still a very timely issue with authoritarian governments, so young people need to be educated."
Hutcherson was 18 when he was cast as Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games. He went on to star in the sequels Catching Fire (2013), Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014), and Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015). A prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, was released in 2023 starring Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler.
After the first three movies, Hutcherson's career largely stalled. During an interview on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Dinner's On Me podcast last year, he said: "I didn't learn rejection ever. I knew only success, from the age of nine to, like, 24, then kind of post Hunger Games world. Because Hunger Games set things up. The industry is so goddamn tricky, because they set you up in this way where they're like, 'You've arrived.' But as quickly as they're excited to get you into the spotlight, they want to not give you anything else... so I tasted my first feeling of disappointment, failure, rejection, probably when I was 24 or so, 25. (Suddenly I was) not getting any offers (and) not getting cast."
In recent years, he has returned to screens in The Beekeeper, I Love LA, and Five Nights at Freddy's.
