The Great Hunger

Though it wasn’t until the past couple of years that Josh Hutcherson entered the mainstream consciousness with films like Bridge To Terebithia, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, The Kids Are Alright and now the eagerly-anticipated The Hunger Games, it was neither a quick nor flukey road to success for the 19-year-old star. At the age of nine, he was already so determined to be famous that he convinced his parents to move to California so he could pursue his dream. He really must have been one stubborn little git.

“I was,” he laughs. “I’m an all-or-nothing person, so thankfully in that situation it worked out for me. But yeah, I’ve been passionate about this since I was nine years old, so I’ve been working my ass off for the past ten years.”
Not that he’s complaining.
“It’s crazy, people do ask me if I feel like I’ve missed out on a ‘normal life’, and I’ve just grown to hate the word ‘normal’ – though I’m not sure if I hate it because I never got to have it or if it’s because I always wanted to be anything but that. But I’ve had so many cool experiences, travelling the world and acting, so I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
And his determination played a huge part in landing the much-coveted role of Peeta in the sci-fi action adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, as he fought hard for the part.
“I made it through the three books in a week, I was obsessed with them and loved Peeta, I was going to die if I didn’t get that part!”
Set in a futuristic, totalitarian America – now called Panem – where teenagers from each district compete in to-the-death battles in order to win lifelong food and security, The Hunger Games is an action-packed, dystopian drama. But at the centre of the film lies not violence, but a love triangle involving the stubborn Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), and the two boys eager to win her love; her friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and the rich but romantic Peeta (Hutcherson). The latter admits that pretending to love the lovely Oscar-nominated actress wasn’t difficult.
“Of course I have a crush on her! She’s one of my very best friends so nothing’s going on, but how could you not be completely enamoured by her? She’s beautiful, hilarious, down-to-earth – she has every quality you could want. So yeah, maybe a bit of method acting going on in the romantic scenes!”
But Lawrence isn’t the only actor that has made Hutcherson go a bit starry-eyed. The teenager admits he idolised co-star and now friend Woody Harrelson and had previously been overwhelmed when he got to work alongside Michael Caine in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.
“He’s just the nicest guy, but he has so many unbelievable stories, he was talking about going to Vegas with Frank Sinatra on a private jet and hanging out with John Wayne, he’s just had an incredible life! I wonder if he feels like he’s missed out a normal life though?” he quips.
But for all his amazing successes so far, Hutcherson still feels the bite of one unsuccessful audition. Though shortlisted to become the next Spiderman, the part eventually went to The Social Network’s Andrew Garfield, and Hutcherson isn’t hiding his disappointment.
“I wanted that part so bad! I mean it’s every little boy’s dream to be Spiderman, so that sucked! But on the other hand, things happen for a reason – if I had got that I wouldn’t be able to be Peeta, and I think it’s going to be the next exciting huge franchise.”
If the fanatic, Twihard-esque fans of the novels are anything to go by, he’s right, and it seems he’s already encountered some crazy fan-girl behaviour since being signed on to the trilogy.
“Yeah, all these girls tracked down my address and came to my house over the holidays, it was insane! They had driven over eight hours on the off-chance that I’d be home and then just stood outside screaming and crying. It was really weird, looking outside to see these young girls crying on my porch – what am I meant to do with that?”
Jennifer Lawrence has said that she was very concerned about signing up to the film, having seen how the Twilight phenomenon changed the lives of its cast members. But for Hutcherson, it’s only now he’s started getting these reactions that the reality of his rising profile is beginning to sink in.
“Yeah, I didn’t think of it before, and now it’s beginning to dawn on me! But I love the character too much to not do it because of attention. Plus,” he jokes, “I’m 19, they’re screaming girls – I may as well enjoy it while it lasts!”

The Hunger Games is in cinemas from March 23.