Jennifer Lawrence's Early Fame Experiences Echoed By Katniss Role In 'The Hunger Games'

With 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1' coming out soon, things are getting a lot darker in the dystopian world of Panem. And while it was difficult for Jennifer Lawrence to draw on her personal life for a story so extraodinary, she admits parallels between she and Katniss Everdeen were still there.

Katniss goes through some pretty hellish times in Suzanne Collins' fantasy trilogy; while the first book and movie saw her engage in the deadly Hunger Games for District 12 and subsequently win with her so-called boyfriend Peeta, the second thrust her into an unfamiliar and dangerous world of fame, recognition and respect. But after being forced into the Games a second time in 'Catching Fire' only for it to end with her awakening as she is whisked off with her friends and mentor to the long-forgotten District 13 having lost her home, she's facing a new kind of fame. She's now expected to lead the rebels in a war against the Capitol led by the tyrannical President Snow, who happens to be holding Peeta hostage.

More: Watch the trailer for 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1'

Jennifer Lawrence, who won her first Oscar at the tender age of 22, looked back to her early days as an actress in a bid to capture some of the bewilderment in Katniss' mind as she is forced to become an icon. 'I remember reading the first books and when I read them I was going through my first awards season for 'Winter's Bone' and I had never experienced anything like that', she explains. 'Being put in dresses that are uncomfortable and looking not like myself and all of a sudden everyone's listening to you and you're like 'Don't listen to me, I'm 20!' I felt like there were a few parallels of that, of having people look at you and listen to you at a very young age when you didn't really feel ready.'

More: Read our review of 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'

Generally, however, Lawrence doesn't find drawing on one's own experiences a particularly helpful method of playing a character. 'I never really understand how that works because it's not me, it's a very different person that handles emotions in a very different way', she insists. 'I would've just been crying every single day and been like: 'Where's my mom?!'

'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1' is out in the US November 21st 2014.