I have been putting off commenting on the cast of The Hunger Games because new announcements are being made pretty much every day. But now Haymitch has been cast and it seems an appropriate time to review the entire cast so far.
First, we all know by now that Gale is being played by Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson is Peeta, and the lead role of Katniss went to Jennifer Lawrence. I have still never seen Hemsworth or Lawrence in anything so I am not commenting on that casting, but I watched Cirque du Freak, which Hutcherson is in and I cannot wait to see what he does with Peeta. He has a very sweet look, but can also play dark really well.
Second, we have the other primary characters:
Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane
Amandla Stenberg as Rue
Paula Malcomson as Mrs. Everdeen
Willow Shields as Primrose Everdeen
Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy
Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman
Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket
Seneca Crane is the Head Gamemaker and really didn't make too much of an impact on me in the book as I had to look up who he was. Likewise, Bentley didn't stick out to me. Rue is a 12 year old tribute for the games and reminds Katniss of her own sister. Rue is a very important character and Stenberg is pretty much a complete unknown. I assume she will be excellent. Mrs. Everdeen is Katniss' mother and seems like a hard role to play due to the fact that in the book, she is both likable and unlikable at the same time. Malcomson has been in a lot of tv dramas, most recently Sons of Anarchy and Caprica, though I haven't seen her in much. Based on her CV, I think she will do well in the part. Primrose is Katniss' sister and though she isn't in the books much, she is a very important character. Shields is pretty much unknown, but has the right look.
Haymitch is the mentor of Katniss and Peeta for the games, being a previous winner. He is also drunk all of the time. And he's a bit of a dick most of the time. He does not seem to really like Katniss, but the feeling is mostly reciprocal. In my opinion, Haymitch is one of the most important and interesting characters in the book. And I am so excited about Woody Harrelson playing him. He has been in both comedy and drama, which I think is kind of the balance that Haymitch needs to strike. He might seem like an odd choice if you've only seen him in Cheers or Will & Grace, but I'd say his characters in Zombieland and No Country for Old Men show the range and balance between tough and silly. Though I never imagined him in the part, I think he will be excellent!
Caesar Flickerman is a reporter in the Capital who does the interviews for the Hunger Games. I definitely did not see Stanley Tucci in that role, but I am super excited about it. He is easy going and likable as far as people in the Capital go. I always saw Flickerman as super charming yet quirky; a bit humorous but with the ability to make both sides of any warring groups like him. I think Tucci will be able to play that really well.
Effie Trinket is the wrangler for Katniss and Peeta. She is a bit of an odd character. She and Katniss do not really get along, but they seem to have some respect for each other. I always saw Effie as outwardly bubbly and light, but with something brewing under the surface. I always feel like she is the slightest bit insane, but also well intentioned and possibly knows more than she lets on. I think Elizabeth Banks will be perfect for the role and is actually who I sort of pictured when I was reading. She has been in mostly silly comedies like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Zack and Miri Make a Porno, but I think her character in Slither shows what potential she has for the craziness of the Hunger Games. I really think that she is the most perfectly cast character in the movie so far.
Other tributes: Jeremy Marinas (Justin Starr in The LXD), Dakota Hood, Imanol Vepez-Frias, Annie Thurman, Samuel Tan, Mackenzie Lintz, Sam Ly, Leigha Hancock, Ashton Moio, Kara Petersen, Jacqueline Emerson, Chris Mark, Ethan Jamieson, Tara Macken (Luisa in Sons of Anarchy), Ian Nelson, Kalia Prescott, Jack Quaid, Leven Rambin (Riley in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Lily in All My Children, Sloan in Grey's Anatomy), Dayo Okeniyi.
As you can see, except for a couple people, everyone is an unknown or a newcomer. And most of the tributes also have some stunt background, which is awesome! The tributes mostly run around and fight with each other so it is important that the actors can look good fighting. The most castings that get announced, the most excited I get about the movie. I think they are being smart going with mostly unknowns for the kids parts and going with some well seasoned actors in the adult roles. I look forward to seeing who gets cast as Cinna, Katniss' stylist (I am still pulling for Cillian Murphy), and President Snow, who has to be the creepiest and most sadistic person around (honestly, no idea who should be cast there).
Overall, though I still am unsure how the movie can possibly be anywhere close to as good as the books and concerned with how much they can't show to make it a PG-13 rating, I am getting excited. I look forward to seeing how it all pans out and who the round out the cast with. I will do another post on further castings. In the mean time, let me know what you think about who has been cast. Was it who you pictured? Are you upset over anyone? Who do you see as some of the other characters?
ETA: Last tributes cast...I should have waited a few more hours before writing this!
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