The actor has now grown to “appreciate” the fame that came from playing Peeta Mellark.

Josh Hutcherson was ‘resentful’ of Hunger Games fame: ‘I didn’t want that kind of attention’

The actor has now grown to "appreciate" the fame that came from playing Peeta Mellark.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

June 11, 2026 12:50 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark in 'The Hunger Games'. Credit:

Murray Close/Lionsgate

- Josh Hutcherson was "intimidated" by the fame that came with *The Hunger Games*.

- He admitted to being "angry" for years, only to eventually grow to "appreciate" it.

- Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence will reportedly return in the upcoming prequel.

Josh Hutcherson was hungry for less attention during the rise of *The Hunger Games*.

The former child actor was starring in films for almost a decade when he landed the career-changing role of Peeta Mellark in the adaptation of the popular YA dystopian series. Released in 2012, the first installment was a pop culture sensation, and things didn't slow down with the three subsequent sequels.

"College for me was shooting those movies and growing up with them," Hutcherson told *Hunger Games* costar Elizabeth Banks during *Variety*'s Actors on Actors. "It was crazy. It was such a massive machine, and it was such a formative time of my life. We all went through so many changes together. We leaned on each other, hard-core. It was really intimidating."

He continued, "I started acting when I was a kid because I liked the idea of making movies. Fame was never on my radar — and then I was thrust into that world in such a big way. It was a lot. For a long time, I was resentful toward it, because I didn’t want that kind of attention."

Hutcherson at the 'I Love LA' premiere.

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

When Banks noted how much of a "huge intrusion" that type of a spotlight can be on your life, Hutcherson admitted to long being "chip-on-my-shoulder angry about it."

Now, more than a decade since his last appearance as Peeta, Hutcherson said, "With years of perspective, I have grown to appreciate it so much."

Last year, Hutcherson reflected on his post-*Hunger Games* experience, in which he dealt with his "first feeling of disappointment, failure, rejection."

"It was just like a string of no one calling, not getting any offers, auditioning, but not getting cast," he said. "It's this whole thing of, 'Oh wow, I have my career that I've had since I was 9 years old. It's always worked. I always got cast.' Of course, there are things that you don't get cast in, but I had only known that the chances are, if I was auditioning, [I] was going to book it. That is just not the reality at all."

Josh Hutcherson isn't the kid from 'The Hunger Games' anymore

Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson to reprise 'Hunger Games' roles for 'Sunrise on the Reaping' prequel

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

It's good that Hutcherson has grown to appreciate his *Hunger Games* fame, because he and Jennifer Lawrence are reportedly set for a cameo in the upcoming prequel, *Sunrise on the Reaping*.

"The new book’s amazing," he told Banks, whose character, Effie Trinkett, will be played by Elle Fanning. "It’s cool to see it continue with a different generation and different stories. Unfortunately, it’s still a very timely issue with authoritarian governments, so young people need to be educated."

- Action Movies

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Action”