When Josh Hutcherson was first cast as Peeta Mellark in ‘Hunger Games’, there was a lot of criticism about whether he looked the part – however, Hutcherson’s intensity and commitment to the role won out any nay-sayers. Hutcherson is now speaking about how he gained that commitment, saying, "It was a bit of a challenge to physically embody the role. But my biggest mission was to do the best I could in the movie. I hoped by doing so fans would be OK with it."
As one of Variety’s Big Screen kids, Hutcherson says, “"I don't ever want to be seen as just one role. That's why I haven't done TV. It can be amazing, but you can definitely be typecast as that one role.”
He adds that he definitely wants to get behind the scenes one day, saying, “"I'm dying to get into more behind-the-scenes work. I want to produce and direct and create whatever I want some day."
Hutcherson’s upcoming movies include three more Hunger Games movies, a Red Dawn re-make, as well as an action-adventure movie called ‘Epic’.
Hutcherson is currently in North Carolina shooting ‘Catching Fire’, the sequel to Hunger Games, which is set to release in November of 2013.
