The One Thing Jennifer Lawrence Refused To Do For The Hunger Games
It's pretty common for actors to be asked to change some part of themselves in order to better fit a role, ranging in severity from wearing prosthetics to cutting hair, but sometimes they're asked to modify themselves a little more drastically. Some actors even make their physical transformations as much a part of the marketing of a film as the performance, like when Matthew McConaughey lost 50 pounds to play a dying AIDS patient in "Dallas Buyer's Club." To that end, when it came to being cast in "The Hunger Games," producers wanted rising young actor Jennifer Lawrence to change herself in order to look more like their idea of Katniss Everdeen, the movie's hero. She had no problem dying her blond hair a darker brown hue to match the character's description in the books, but there was another change that she refused, and for good reason.
In an interview with SciFiNow from 2013, Lawrence explained that there was one request that was just too much for her to agree to, and surprisingly executives relented and kept the young star onboard without requiring the change. It's not like she was being spoiled, either, as she completely changed her body structure training in archery for these very films, broadening her shoulders and lengthening one arm. Lawrence is known for really giving her all to roles, learning to skin a squirrel for "Winter's Bone" and training in ballet for "Red Sparrow," so what was it that made her say "no way" with regards to Katniss Everdeen?
Refusing to be another wafer-thin waif
The request made of Lawrence was sadly one that's all too common of women in entertainment, and Lawrence wasn't having it. When she was set to play Katniss Everdeen, the hero at the center of "The Hunger Games," she was asked to lose weight and refused, telling SciFiNow:
"In the first movie, when it was obviously being talked about, like, 'It's 'The Hunger Games,' you have to lose 10 pounds,' I was like, 'We have control over this image; we have control over this role model. 'Why would we make her something unobtainable and thin?' This is a person that young girls — well, all women, but mainly young girls — will be looking up to and are going to want to look like her, and we have control over it, so why not make her strong? Why not make her beautiful and healthy and fit? I was very adamant about that, because I think that our industry doesn't take enough responsibility for what it does to our society, about having these unrealistic expectations, and I don't want to be part of that."
Considering that "The Hunger Games" is a best-selling young adult novel that was made into a film for mainstream (and primarily young) audiences, Lawrence is absolutely on the money. It's much more important for kids and teens to have healthy role models to look up to, especially when you know that it's a character that's going to be emulated for years to come.
Unrealistic expectations for actors
Actors are often held to wildly unrealistic expectations, forced to shape their bodies into what producers think audiences will find most aesthetically appealing. While sometimes that has relevance to a particular role, more often than not it's just a matter of buying into the old adage that "sex sells" and they're trying to get audiences to thirst over the stars. Unfortunately, that oftentimes means engaging in restrictive diets and intentional dehydration in order to obtain the "cut" look common to superhero films. In other words, actors are literally changing their bodies for roles, to the degree that it could potentially damage their health. And while that may seem admirable from an artistic standpoint, it's also kind of ridiculous from a human standpoint because some of the damage caused could be permanent! It's also worth noting that there's a big difference in an extreme change for one film and being forced to repeat it for each subsequent sequel. McConaughey could go back to a regular lifestyle after "Dallas Buyer's Club" because it's a standalone film, but franchise film stars have to reckon with repeatedly putting their bodies through tremendous strain.
Sure, losing 10 pounds for "The Hunger Games" probably wouldn't have led to long-term health effects for Lawrence, but there's no telling what other kinds of requests have been made over the years. It's fascinating when actors change themselves so completely, but it should be entirely up to them and never because of studio pressure. Good on Lawrence for making her stand, and good on the studio for actually listening!