Hunger Games cast in Vanity Fair Photoshoot

While the odds may not be in favor of these actors in the arena, they certainly were in the casting room. In what was one of the most-watched casting calls for young actors since Twilight, auditions for The Hunger Games were a battle royale in their own right. Anxious to make the cut, hopefuls went all out: they covered their faces with dirt, put twigs in their hair, and wielded various weapons (including a Nerf crossbow and plastic butcher knife). It was all for the chance to play the “tributes” who fight each other to the death in contests broadcast throughout Panem (the futuristic ruins of North America) in the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s wildly popular young-adult novels. Ultimately, director Gary Ross took a liking to a fresh-faced cast that includes stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth, and a host of new breakout actors.