Josh Hutcherson lifts the lid on his 'The Hunger Games' experience

Josh Hutcherson opened up about the difficulties he faced while filming The Hunger Games as a teenager.

The 33-year-old American actor played the role of Peeta Mellark in a 2012 American dystopian action film directed by Gary Ross, who co-wrote the screenplay with Billy Ray and Suzanne Collins. It was based on Collins’ 2008 novel of the same name.

Hutcherson appeared on Variety and CNN’s Actors on Actors series, where he chatted with his Hunger Games costar Elizabeth Banks about the challenges he had to go through on the set as a budding actor.

Banks said, “I remember coming back and you guys were like this feral gang of young people. That's what it felt like.”

Agreeing with her, he stated that he was still in his teens when production started, quipping, “Well, I mean, I think I was like 19. Like it was like that was my — I didn't do college and so like college for me was shooting those movies.”

“And kind of growing up with them, but that was so long ago,” the Five Nights at Freddy's star said.

It is pertinent to mention that Hutcherson is set to reprise his role in the forthcoming prequel Sunrise on the Reap, which will open in theaters on November 20, 2026.