Movies - TV
Why Jennifer Lawrence Will Never Be The Same After The Hunger Games Archery Lessons
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
In "The Hunger Games," Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss Everdeen, a teenager from a dystopian future skilled in archery, who is forced to fight to the death in the titular Games.
Katniss joined a cadre of pop-culture archers like Neytiri from "Avatar" and Merida from "Brave," but Lawrence had to endure some physical alterations while training for the role.
Lawrence told "Fresh Air" that she trained under Olympian archer Khatuna Lorig to learn how to operate a recurve bow. "It totally changed my body," she said.
The actress added, "When I went back for the fitting for the second movie [...] my shoulders were two inches broader and my right arm is one inch longer than my left arm."
She also explained that Lorig, who most recently won a gold and a silver at the Pan American Games in 2019, was an excellent, albeit strict, instructor.
"If I had bad form, she would pinch my ear," Lawrence said. Her hard work paid off, as she went on to hold the Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing action heroine.