'I Didn't Want That Kind of Attention': Josh Hutcherson Admits He Was 'Angry' Over 'Hunger Games' Fame

Josh Hutcherson recently revealed that he initially felt 'resentful' toward the fame that came with starring in The Hunger Games franchise.

Hutcherson began acting at a young age, starring in popular films like Little Manhattan and Zathura: A Space Adventure, before landing the career-defining role of Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games.

Released in 2012, the first film became a pop-culture phenomenon and launched Hutcherson, alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth, to global fame.

The franchise went on to spawn three successful sequels, including Catching Fire and Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2.

Josh Hutcherson Reflects on 'The Hunger Games' Fame

During Variety and CNN's Actors on Actors series, Hutcherson reflected on how his life changed after joining the franchise.

'I was 19. I didn't do college, so college for me was shooting those movies and growing up with them. It's so long ago,' he told his former Hunger Gamesco-star, Elizabeth Banks.

'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. I'm from a small town in Kentucky,' he added.

Hutcherson explained that while he loved making movies, fame was 'never on my radar'.

'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,' Hutcherson said.

'For a long time, I was resentful toward it, because I didn't want that kind of attention,' he added.

Looking back, however, he has come to view the experience differently.

'So I was chip-on-my-shoulder angry about it. With years of perspective, I have grown to appreciate it so much,' he said.

Will Josh Hutcherson Be in 'Sunrise on the Reaping'?

Ever since Suzanne Collins released Sunrise on the Reaping, fans have speculated about whether Hutcherson and Lawrence could return for the upcoming film adaptation, which is scheduled to be released in theatres on 20 November 2026.

The story follows a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy during the 50th Hunger Games, years before he became mentor to Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.

Because Katniss and Peeta appear in the book's epilogue, some fans have wondered whether Lawrence and Hutcherson could make appearances in the film.

Last December, reports suggested the pair were expected to reprise their roles in Sunrise on the Reaping.

When asked about the upcoming film, Hutcherson said, 'The new book's amazing. 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.'

Sunrise on the Reaping is the latest prequel in The Hunger Games franchise, following 2023's The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which starred Tom Blyth as Coriolanus 'Coryo' Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird.

The upcoming movie will be the sixth installment in The Hunger Games film series and stars Joseph Zada, Mckenna Grace, Ralph Fiennes, Jesse Plemons, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Ben Wang, and Maya Hawke.