Josh Hutcherson is looking back on experiencing great success while starring in The Hunger Games films and how that ultimately impacted him.
While speaking on Sony Music Entertainment’s Dinner’s On Me Podcast, hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 star said that because of starring in the films at a young age and their success, he didn’t learn what “rejection” felt like.
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In its debut, the first Hunger Games film opened to $155 million at the domestic box office in 2012, with franchise stars Lawrence, Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth quickly ascending to superstardom. Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games was the first of an eventual four-film franchise based on Collins’ best-selling trilogy — The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009) and Mockingjay (2010) — which Hutcherson starred in.
“I just only knew success,” the actor said on the podcast. “ From the age 9 to like 24 and then kind of post-Hunger Games world.”
He continued, “Because also Hunger Games set things up. The industry’s so goddamn tricky. They set you up in this way where they’re like, ‘You’ve arrived.’ You now are working with Jennifer Lawrence and Philip Seymour Hoffman. And you’re in this movie, it makes billions of dollars. You’re the second lead of the film. Like what do you want? The kingdom is yours and it’s not at all.”
Despite starring in adaptations of the bestsellers, Hutcherson explained that the fame may have rose quickly, but it disappeared just as fast.
“As quickly as they’re excited to get you into that spotlight, they want to not give you anything else. In a way it’s very complicated. So I tasted my kind of first feeling of disappointment, failure, rejection… Probably when I was like 24 or so.”
He said after finishing the films, his work slate was not necessarily busy.
“It was just like a string of no one calling, not getting any offers, auditioning but not getting cast,” Hutcherson 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, was going to book it. That is just not the reality at all.”
Hutcherson may now currently star in the I Love LA HBO series but he at one point thought he might not be cut out for the “top-tier” TV club.
“I would say, honestly, up until I did I Love LA, my perspective on the industry was shifting and in such a way where I was like, look, I love acting. I want to try to keep doing this as long as I can,” he explained. “But the ambition of making high quality, like top-tier stuff, maybe that’s not for me? And maybe I’m okay with that and maybe I know that I can work and make a good living and have a great life and enjoy what I do. But maybe an HBO show that is fantastic, great writing … maybe that’s just not what I am? Maybe they don’t want me in that club. And so I was kind of like, in a weird way, coming to terms with that. It was like a sad but true feeling, acceptance. And then of course, this fucking show happened.”
He said starring on the show has “reignited all of that drive.”
“There’s a reason why. A, I want to be there because it’s the most fulfilling version of doing the thing that I love the most, and B, like, I can hang with these people. You know what I mean? It felt right, it felt good and I was doubting myself.”
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