Jennifer Lawrence became the face of The Hunger Games franchise when it launched in 2012, but how old was the actress throughout the first film and its sequels? Lawrence was cast as Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games’ protagonist, in March 2011. The original film, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, was directed by Gary Ross before Francis Lawrence took the reins as director for the remaining three sequels. The franchise was highly successful and is still beloved to this day.
Lawrence has become a household name over the years, having starred in big studio movies and small indie films, including last year’s Causeway alongside Oscar-nominated Brian Tyree Henry, American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook, Winter’s Bone, X-Men: First Class, and Netflix’s Don’t Look Up, among others. She’s won an Oscar and has been nominated for several over the years. But many viewers likely remember Lawrence the most from her role as Katniss in The Hunger Games and its sequels, a franchise that made her a global star. The actress is now in her 30s, but she was over a decade younger when she first took up her bow and arrow as Katniss.
Jennifer Lawrence Was 20 Years Old When She Made The Hunger Games
When filming began on The Hunger Games in May 2011, Jennifer Lawrence, who was born in August 1990, was 20 years old. She was just a few months shy of her 21st birthday. Filming took place for several months, from May to September 2011. By the time the film was released in March 2012, Lawrence had already turned 21. The Hunger Games wasn’t Lawrence’s first time in a major franchise, having previously played Mystique in X-Men: First Class, but it was her first franchise role as the lead character.
Comparatively, Lawrence was older than other young adult franchise stars at the time The Hunger Games began. Kristen Stewart, as an example, was 18 years old when she starred as Bella Swan in Twilight, while the Harry Potter stars — Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint — were far younger (between the ages of 10-12) when their franchise first began filming and in their early 20s when the final film in the eight-movie franchise ended in 2011.
How Old Jennifer Lawrence Was In The Hunger Games Sequels
The Hunger Games was a success and, with Collins having written a trilogy, it was no surprise that it got several more sequels. 2013’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was the direct follow-up to the original film, which saw Katniss reentering the Hunger Games with others who had won in previous years. When filming began in September 2012, Jennifer Lawrence was 22 years old. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and Mockingjay Part 2 followed, with filming taking place back-to-back from September 2013 to May 2014. Lawrence was 23 years old at the time of filming both of the final Hunger Games films.
Lionsgate released one The Hunger Games movie each year beginning in 2012, with the franchise wrapping up in 2015 with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. By the time The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 2 was released in November, Lawrence had turned 25 years old, which was quite a ways off from Katniss’ age in the books. The Hunger Games films took up a good chunk of Lawrence’s early 20s, but the franchise didn’t typecast her, and the actress played a range of characters that were a far cry from Katniss Everdeen — during and after the franchise had ended its run.
How Jennifer Lawrence's Age Compares To Katniss Everdeen's
Jennifer Lawrence was no longer a teenager when she began filming The Hunger Games. However, she was a few years older than her book counterpart when she took the role. In The Hunger Games book, Katniss Everdeen is 16 years old, four years younger than the actress who played her. Collins was perfectly fine with Lawrence’s age when she was cast to play Katniss, and actually preferred to have someone older in the role because it brought a sense of maturity and power to the character. According to The Hunger Games director Gary Ross, Collins was concerned about casting someone who was too young.
Although Lawrence was a few years older than the book version of Katniss, she still embodied the character’s most important qualities. She portrayed Katniss with a sense of gravitas, especially as the role required her to be a strong protector of her family (and especially her sister Prim), as well as someone who could hold her own in the Hunger Games arena against other competitors. All told, Lawrence wasn’t too far out of the age range to play Katniss with the kind of intensity and groundedness required to make the character believable to a legion of fans.