Jennifer Lawrence Almost Passed On Katniss Everdeen Hunger Games Role That Turned Her Into Hollywood’s Biggest Star: “I Was Scared Of The Aftermath”

Jennifer Lawrence once nearly turned down the role that launched her to superstardom. The actress reportedly spent three days figuring out how to decline the role of Katniss Everdeen in Hunger Games. 

Jennifer Lawrence started her career on the small screen, with guest appearances on shows like Monk and Cold Case before securing a series-regular gig in TBS’s The Bill Engvall Show as his oldest daughter. Lawrence landed her big break with her first leading role in the 2010 Indie film Winter’s Bone, which earned her a Best Actress Academy Awards nomination.

However, her role in the massive franchise The Hunger Games made her one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. In a 2012 interview, Jennifer Lawrence revealed she nearly turned down the role and wanted to remain where she started, in smaller independent films. 

Jennifer Lawrence revealed that her reluctance stemmed from the fear of change as she was petrified of what success could mean for her career.  In an interview over the weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival,
Lawrence said, “Just saying yes to this one thing could completely change my life, and I don’t know if it’s going to be for the better.”

Jennifer Lawrence continued that while she wanted to play the character in Hunger Games, she was “scared of the aftermath.”

Lawrence, who was still mulling over declining the role, was reportedly talked into taking it by her mother. The Silver Linings Playbook Actress recalled, “She was like, ‘You’re being a hypocrite because you always say you don’t care about the size of the movies.’ Because when I was doing indies, everybody was always like, ‘Why don’t you ever do a studio?’ I’d say, ‘Because I don’t care about the size of the movie. I care about the story.”

Lawrence continued,  “And my mom was like, ‘Now you have a story you like, and you’re not going to do it because of the size.'”
In the end, Lawrence agreed to take on the role in The Hunger Games, which made her one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

A new movie starring Jennifer Lawrence will be filming in Alberta later this summer.

According to the Directors Guild of Canada(opens in a new tab), the film – called Die, My Love – will be in production from Aug. 12 to Oct. 8.

IMDB(opens in a new tab) indicates the movie will star Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger GamesAmerican Hustle)and will tell the story of a mother struggling to maintain her sanity as she battles psychosis while living in a remote and forgotten rural area.  

The movie will be directed by Lynne Ramsay, perhaps best known for her work directing the 2011 drama We Need to Talk About Kevin, starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller.

It's also written, in part, by Ramsay, in addition to Ariana Harwicz and Enda Walsh.

IMDB says the Die, My Love will be filmed in Calgary, and describes it as a comedy, drama, horror and thriller.

It's one of seven upcoming projects Lawrence's name is tied to on IMDB.

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