Portia And Octavia Cast In 'The Hunger Games'

No, there aren't any strippers in The Hunger Games, they're just named that way. The roles of Portia and Octavia have been filled in Gary Ross' adaptation of the popular Suzanne Collins young adult novel and the lucky actresses are Latarsha Rose and Brooke Bundy who'll play Portia and Octavia respectively (Above Rose is on the left, Bundy is on the right).

Portia is Peeta's (Josh Hutcherson) stylist and Octavia is a member of Katniss's (Jennifer Lawrence) prep team. We know, it sounds weird. Basically, when a Tribute get picked to be in The Hunger Games, they become celebrities and are each assigned a team of people to design their clothes, do their makeup, etc. You know, so they look good before they're brutally murdered for entertainment. In the novels these teams – especially for the two leads – have significance both in the plot and as a commentary on economic disparity. Read more after the jump.

The casting of these two relatively unknown actresses was announced on the LionsGate Twitter, where they have been officially announcing all of the Hunger Games casting and more.

Rose has appeared on a few television shows, most notably the cancelled Swingtown but also in bit parts on Law and Order, CSI: Miami and Bones. Bundy hasn't been in anything most of us have heard of but, it's nice that today two actresses got what could be their big break.

The way the casting for The Hunger Games is going, there are two major roles still up for grabs and a few important supporting roles, like these two. I'd be willing to be that the role of the villainous President Snow will be announced last and that Cinna, Katniss' stylist (the equivalent of Portia, but way more important) will be played by Lenny Kravitz, as has been rumored.

After casting a bunch of name actors, are you glad to see Ross is choosing unknowns for other roles?