Josh Hutcherson’s life was never the same after “The Hunger Games” saga.
“It was the first time I was away from my family and on my own.”
“Like, I’m supposed to be somewhere!”
he said in a 2024Entertainment Weeklyinterview.
Though the franchise is far from finished, for Hutcherson, the door might be closed off for good.
“The biggest positives were, number one, the experience,” he toldYahoo!
“[T]he list is pretty mind-blowing,” he gushed.
“you could become boxed in as an actor, professionally,” he said in Yahoo!
Perhaps understandably, Hutcherson wasn’t exactly clamoring to hop aboard another franchise after “The Hunger Games.”
However, the actor wanted to try a different lane.
“I’m definitely drawn to heavy material,” he toldIndieWirein 2014.
“And now he’s killing it,” Hutcherson said ofRobert Pattinson’s stunning transformation.
It gave Hutcherson hope.
After “The Hunger Games,” the actor moved away from the YA genre altogether.
“When I’m on set, I always think, ‘Dude, what are we doing here?
We’re spending 100 million dollars to make this movie.
I don’t even understand.”
Pivoting from a big-budget blockbuster franchise to a smaller flick was a welcome change of pace for the star.
“I’ve in my experience loved making smaller movies, independent films,” he told IndieWire.
When you have this lighter, more nimble crew you feel more free."
“I hate attention.
I didn’t choose it,” he told IndieWire in 2014.
What’s more, Hutcherson isn’t a fan of navigating gossip or probing interview questions.
“I’m not a PR person, I’m an actor.
At the height of “The Hunger Games” mania, the actor struggled to fly under the radar.
In a 2017 chat with ET (viaYahoo!
Josh Hutcherson, unlikehis “Hunger Games” castmates, wanted to take on something different.
He took an interest behind the camera
Josh Hutcherson has also gotten into directing and producing.
He made his directorial debut with a short psychological thriller called “Ape” in 2017.
In “Ape,” Hutcherson plays the lead role of Travis, a young man who has schizophrenia.
“It was challenging for sure,” he toldVariety.
He had read the script many years ago and had tried to make it work back then.
Being in the director’s chair also changed his perception.
“Film is such a director’s medium.”
“I felt really comfortable.”
“It sounded really great.”
“Future Man” was Hutcherson’s first foray into TV, and this wasn’t an accident.
Rather, he’d intentionally avoided the medium up until that point.
“I had a very antiquated idea of it,” he admitted to Entertainment Weekly in 2020.
However, “Future Man” made him change his tune.
“What better group of people to take a swing at this?
It was so fun,” he said.
Hutcherson came close to joining the MCU, but the role eventually went to Andrew Garfield.
“They just end up hiring somebody else,” he dished toInversein 2024.
“I never found out why.
And hey, it sounds like he’s game.
As he told Inverse, “I’d be open to it, man.
I’d throw some webs around.”
It’s no stretch to say Derek couldn’t be further away from Peeta Mellark.
In the same interview, Ayer shared that he loved seeing Hutcherson take on this character.
He headlined Five Nights at Freddy’s
“The Beekeeper” star has stayed a busy bee.
“I think that ‘Freddy’s’ is a great stepping stone in that regard because Mike feels older.
He doesn’t feel like a teenager, he feels like a young man.
I’m really excited to see what that brings me in the future.”
“This could have a very potentially long run,” he toldEsquirein 2024.
“And it could be a lot of fun.”
Hutcherson later told Esquire that the gig totally changed his personal approach to style.
What’s more, it opened his eyes to the magic of tailoring.
Sounds like someone’s going to stay Peeta Mel-looking good.
