Alternative 'Hunger Games' Cast: How 'Catching Fire' Could Have Looked
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is beginning to open in cinemas worldwide after months of fevered anticipation. As we gear up to watch Katniss Everdeen and the people of Panem launch an uprising against the tyrannical powers of The Capitol, let's take a trip to an alternate dimension and see which other actors could have led the movie, had Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth not snagged the roles.
We know it's hard to imagine anyone else in the three main Hunger Games roles but indulge us if you will whilst we present a glimpse into an alternative cast comprised of actors who reportedly auditioned for the roles.
Katniss Everdeen
What would The Hunger Games be without Jennifer Lawrence? Seriously. The actress is loveable and identifiable on and off screen and she brings a compassionate yet determined power to Suzanne Collins' complex heroine. However, fellow actress Lynsy Fonseca was apparently also hot in the runnings for the lead role and made it to the short-listed stage.
There was talk of the Kick Ass actress taking on the role of Katniss some time before Lawrence's name surfaced. The Nikita star is also said to have really been gunning for the role too, and was one of a reported 30 actresses in contention for the part. However, Fonseca had built up considerable support from the novel trilogy's fans and even got to the stage where she was reading lines at director Gary Ross' house.
"There were just a few of us girls by that point. I was lucky to get that far," she lamented, via Yahoo!. A worthy runner-up indeed.
Click to watch the Catching Fire trailer.
Peeta Mellark
Josh Hutcherson has been praised in his portrayal of the baker's son-turned District 12 warrior Peeta Mellark. The actor has managed to perfectly render a good-hearted character whose complicated relationship with Katniss means that fans will tussle with their allegiance to him.
Hutcherson was one of a strong bunch of actors who went for the Peeta role, including Liam Hemsworth who actually auditioned for Peeta before the role of Gale was handed to him. However, one of the Peeta frontrunners and fan favorites was Weeds star Hunter Parrish. The considered-but-rejected contender isn't a million miles away from Hutcherson in terms of looks but for some reason lost out on the role that has helped make his friend's name.
"Josh is also a friend of mine, and he's great, he's perfect," said "good sport" Hunter. "But I dove in for that one, so for this one, I don't know. I think you just kind of step back, and if it happens, it happens." It seems that Hunter's confidence has also been knocked since his first Hunger Games rejection meaning he didn't want to go for any other characters in the franchise either. He told MTV: "I wouldn't cast myself. I'm a fan of the books, I think there are fantastic actors that would probably be better."
Gale Hawthorne
The role of Gale Hawthorne, Katniss' forbidden lover, was strangely not fought over as fiercely as Katniss or Peeta. Nevertheless, Liam Hemsworth has helped render the District 12 hunter as a brave and noble who accepts a great deal of responsibility at the age of 14 when his father, along with Katniss', is killed in a mining accident.
How I Met Your Mother regular David Henrie would also have been a very credible Gale but would have perhaps lacked the seriousness or intensity that Liam brings to the role. The Californian actor reportedly auditioned and screen tested for Gale and notched up a considerable fan forum following too.
Henrie first learned about the Hunger Games auditions after his How I Met Your Mother co-star and fellow HG auditionee Lyndsy Fonseca suggested he should go for it. "It was actually Lyndsy who called me up and was like, you have to read this book, and you have to read for this role. You'd be perfect!" Henrie revealed, though he wouldn't say whether he'd have preferred Peeta or Gale. He said "I read for both. We all actually read for both. With Jennifer, it was automatic, but Gary, Nina, and everyone else at Lionsgate were really careful with this one. They weren't taking any risks."
Catching Fire has managed an incredible score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes (putting it up there with Gravity, Captain Phillips and Nebraska), with the critics uproarious about the job Francis Lawrence's has done with the sequel.
"Jennifer Lawrence, of course, is the real draw. Female role models come and go, and Lawrence's Katniss is one of the better ones," said Village Voice's Stephanie Zacharek.
"Like Katniss ducking a poison-tip arrow, the keepers of Suzanne Collins's trilogy of fantasy novels have dodged the perils of the sloppy second franchise film," said Cath Clarke of Time Out.
"Francis Lawrence imbues the source material with visceral pleasure in well-wrought scenes vacillating between elaborate spectacle, breathtaking terror, and - occasionally - surprising beauty," Richard Larson of Slant Magazine enthuses.
"(Francis Lawrence) adds some important new pieces to that group and expands the world in a way that doesn't throw out Ross's film, but that uses it as a way to get to something even better," says HitFix's Drew McWeeny.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire hits theaters worldwide on November 22, 2013. Check out all our pictures from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire premiere.