Woody Harrelson Cast as Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games; Leven Rambin Responds to Being Cast as Glimmer
Posted 05.11.11 by Ryan
More cast members are being added to director Gary Ross' adaptation of The Hunger Games on a daily basis, and the latest addition is Woody Harrelson.
THR reports that Harrelson has been cast as Haymitch Abernathy, who is the mentor for District 12 tribute Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence). In the Suzanne Collins novel, Abernathy was victorious in the 50th Hunger Games, and in the decades since, has acquired a drinking problem.
John C. Reilly was rumored for the role of Abernathy last month, until it was reported that Reilly was "never offered the part." With Abernathy cast, as well as the recent casting of Stanley Tucci as Games' host Casear Flickerman, that leaves the roles of Cinna, Everdeen's stylist, District 2 tributes Cato and Clove, and series antagonist President Snow still up for grabs.
For those that haven't read Collins' trilogy of novels, The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian future where teenage "tributes" are selected to fight to the death on a televised reality show. One such tribute, Glimmer, was cast in April with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles actress Leven Rambin, who recently described the part as a "dream come true" to Interview Magazine.
I am such a big fan. I tried to get every one of my friends to read it. A lot of my friends had already read it, and that's why I picked it up, because they were all talking about it. Once I picked it up, I couldn't stop. I was constantly reading it: on airplanes, at dinner, I was reading it under the table. Just in love. I was always like, "Did you hear what happened this week in Hunger Games?" Like it was like a soap opera that only I would enjoy.
Rambin says she is already training for the role.
She's supposed to be this relentless, ruthless killing machine who has been training her whole life. Physically, that's a whole other level for me. Strength-wise, training-wise, and skill-wise, I have to learn how she fights with swords and bow and arrows. She is supposed to be this really ripped girl, basically. I'm working really hard on that, and I think it's a cool process to go through — I've never really gone through that kind of preparation for a character, with physical incorporation. It's hard work, and I'm sore, but it is such an exciting thing to do.
Rambin says the cast has yet to be "gathered," though they will "all leave in the middle of May" for North Carolina to start shooting. The cast includes Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne), Willow Shield as Primrose,
Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, Dayo Okeniyi as Thresh, and Amandla Stenberg as Rue.
Next Showing: The Hunger Games opens March 23, 2012