Jennifer Lawrence Says Her Weight Was the ‘Biggest Conversation’ When She Was Cast in the Hunger Games

When she was just 20 years old, actor Jennifer Lawrence gained significant recognition after she landed the lead role of Katniss Everdeen in the movie adaptation of Suzanne Collin’s popular series The Hunger Games. Though it’s been more than a decade since the actor starred in the first franchise film (which was released in 2012), Lawrence recently reflected on her experience headlining the series during a chat with Viola Davis for Variety’s Actors on Actors series. According to Lawrence, after she was already cast as the lead, she learned that her weight was considered an issue.

Initially reflecting on her experience, Lawrence said, “The Hunger Games was an awesome responsibility. She added, “I mean, those books were huge, and I knew that the audience was children. And there were so many different opinions on what is this action figure for children going to look like.”

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While speaking with Davis about her character’s appearance on the big screen, Lawrence said, “The biggest conversation, of course — this was pre-MeToo, and I’m a woman — so it was weight. And you know, ‘How much weight are you gonna lose?’ and ‘Well, it’s called The Hunger Games, you wouldn’t be…you know,'” she said, indicating that her character, Katniss (who grew up with limited means for food), was supposed to be smaller.

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Despite the pressure, Jennifer Lawrence refused to go on a diet or alter her body for The Hunger Games

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Still, despite the push from executives, Lawrence said that dieting wasn’t something she wanted to do. Likewise, the Red Sparrow actor stated that she didn’t believe that dieting would reflect well with her younger fans. “Along with me being young and growing and not able to be on a diet, because, you know, who wants to be on a diet? I was also like, I don’t know if I want all of the girls who are going to dress up as Katniss to feel like they can’t because they’re not a certain weight,” she said. “And I can’t let that seep into my brain either.”

This isn’t the first time that the star has spoken out about her problem with promoting distorted body image. Back in 2013, while Lawrence was promoting Catching Fire, the second film in the Hunger Games franchise, the Don’t Look Up star spoke with BBC about pushing back against Hollywood’s unrealistic expectations. “We have the ability to control this image that young girls are going to be seeing [in The Hunger Games]. Girls see enough of this body that they will never be able to obtain, these unrealistic expectations. It’s an amazing opportunity to rid ourselves of that in this industry.”

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