Jennifer Lawrence pressured to lose weight for Hunger Games role

Jennifer Lawrence was pressured to lose weight for her role in The Hunger Games.

The 32-year-old actress starred as Katniss Everdeen in the franchise and recalled how she was asked about how she planned to alter her body for the part — even though she was only 20 at the time.

In conversation with Viola Davis for Variety's Actors on Actors series, Jennifer said: "In Hunger Games, it was an awesome responsibility. Those books were huge, and I knew that the audience was children. I remember the biggest conversation was, 'How much weight are you going to lose?'

"Along with me being young and growing and not able to be on a diet, I don't know if I want all of the girls who are going to dress up as Katniss to feel like they can't because they're not a certain weight. And I can't let that seep into my brain either."

Lawrence also recalled how outsiders suggested that the franchise wouldn't work with a female at the heart of the story.

The Causeway star said: "I remember when I was doing Hunger Games, nobody had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie because it wouldn't work — because we were told girls and boys can both identify with a male lead, but boys cannot identify with a female lead.

"And it just makes me so happy every single time I see a movie come out that just blows through every one of those beliefs, and proves that it is just to keep certain people out of the movies. To keep certain people in the same positions that they've always been in."

Jennifer said her role in The Hunger Games was a big contrast to her portrayal of Mystique in the X-Men movies even though they are both major franchises.

She explained: "When I was doing X-Men, it's hard to not have that perception of the movie that's like, 'Oh, well, it's just one of those.' Especially when you're painted blue with scales on your face. If you start thinking, 'I look ridiculous, I feel ridiculous,' there's nowhere to go."

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