Jennifer Lawrence reveals she was pressured to slim down for The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence was told to lose weight for her role in the smash hit film franchise The Hunger Games, she has shared.

Lawrence was a 20-year-old actress who had just emerged in Hollywood when she landed the breakout role of her career, as Katniss Everdeen in the movies based on the successful novel series.

Now 32, Lawrence remembers feeling immense pressure as she committed to the leading role, in which her character was starved and had to fight for survival, as she was told to slim down for the storyline.

Speaking on Variety’s Actors on Actors video series, Lawrence 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?’”

Lawrence refused to give in to requests and diet to shed the pounds, as she took a stand for herself, and her predominantly young fans at the time.

She continued: “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 has spoken out against dieting over the years, saying previously “I’m never going to starve myself for a part.”

She told Elle back in 2012: “I don’t diet. I do exercise! But I don’t diet. You can’t work when you’re hungry, you know?”

Lawrence continued: “I don’t want little girls to be like, ‘Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I’m going to skip dinner.’

“That’s something that I was really conscious of during training, when you’re trying to get your body to look exactly right. I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong, not thin and underfed.”

Lawrence reluctantly dieted for the first time for a role playing an ex-ballerina in 2018 espionage thriller Red Sparrow.

She told Variety: “It was the first time that I was really hungry, and disciplined. I can’t be in character as an ex-ballerina and not feel like an ex-ballerina.”

After production was complete though, Lawrence returned to her normal eating regime.

“Dieting is just not in the cards for me,” she added.