How Jennifer Lawrence Knocked Out Josh Hutcherson On The Hunger Games Set
"The Hunger Games" was one of a handful or immensely popular franchises based on books that came out in the 2010s. After "Twilight" found massive success in 2008, the drive to produce more franchises based on best-selling novels was a strategy among studios. And "The Hunger Games" was one of the most successful — not just in making the stars household names or at the box office, but also in accurately adapting the book.
For those who aren't familiar, the story takes place in a dystopian society called Panem, which exists potentially in the future on the land that once was the United States. Several different districts make up 12 sectors of the country, each producing specific goods for the elite in the Capitol. To remind the districts of what the Capitol can do to them, they host an annual Hunger Games, where kids fight to the death for the elite's pleasure. Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, becomes the heroine of the story because of her "rebellious" move with her other District 12 champion, Peeta Mellark, played by Josh Hutcherson. Even though their on-screen counterparts were meant to kill each other, off-screen, the two leads got along much better... even if Lawrence did injure Hutcherson early on in filming the movies.
Josh Hutcherson still remembers Jennifer Lawrence's hilarious mistake on The Hunger Games set
During the press tours for the four movies in "The Hunger Games" franchise, it was pretty apparent that Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson got along really well. But it could have gone completely south thanks to a mishap on Lawrence's part while filming the first movie. During an interview with Yahoo in March, about a decade after it premiered, Hutcherson shared one memorable but painful incident that happened on the set of "The Hunger Games."
"She was being a real show-off, thinking that she was Jackie Chan or something," Hutcherson recalled. "[She was] throwing these air kicks and was like, 'Josh, I can kick over your head!' And then crack! She clipped me in the temple. ... I don't really remember, because I got knocked out."
When he came to, Hutcherson remembers Lawrence crying and feeling terrible about knocking out her co-star. Of course, Hutcherson didn't carry any hard feelings for the actor and the accident. Maybe they also commiserated over the fact that they both had to dye their natural hair colors for their roles (via E! News).
The Hunger Games cast members still keep in touch years later
Whether it was the hair dyeing, or the fact that they experienced leading a massive franchise at a young age, the main cast of "The Hunger Games" still stay in touch nearly a decade later. In September 2020, Josh Hutcherson told Entertainment Tonight that he had dinner with Jennifer Lawrence after the COVID-19 pandemic started. "I saw Jen during quarantine — got to have dinner together," he said. "It was like mid-summer maybe [and] we had a nice socially-distanced dinner together. [It] was good to catch up with her because she's been off living her life in other places all over the world."
When he reminisced on other cast mates, Hutcherson shared that he keeps in touch with Liam Hemsworth (who played Gale Hawthorne) when he can, even though he lives in Australia, and he saw Woody Harrelson, who played Haymitch, around 2020, as well. "No matter how much time passes, once we see each other again, it's instantly right back to where it was," Hutcherson shared.
Also, during Lawrence's "73 Questions" for Vogue's YouTube channel, which was released on September 6, the actor reminisced on the most fun she's ever had on a set. It, of course, was with Hutcherson and Hemsworth, who Lawrence shouted out in the video. So, all in all, even an on-set KO can't damper the fun for Lawrence and Hutcherson.