Josh Hutcherson nearly swapped Peeta Mellark's apron for a spider suit, as he reflected on the time he was almost cast as Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), ultimately going to Andrew Garfield. "A few months before I was cast in The Hunger Games, I was in the running to be Spider-Man," the 33-year-old actor shared on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Dinner's on Me podcast episode on Dec. 8. "I got told 'no,' which, as a teenager, was heartbreaking because I obviously wanted to be Spider-Man. But then, I was cast in The Hunger Games. That was the craziest turn of events."
He continued, "The Hunger Games came out of nowhere. It just changed everything." Despite the rejection, Josh still remembered how hard he worked for his close call with the Marvel role. Last January, he revealed that one of his friends, who used to be his stunt double, helped him prepare for his audition. "We decided to shoot me doing some Spider-Man stunts, but I didn't get it," he told Wired at the time.
Indeed, this rejection opened the door to Josh's entry into District 12. He starred in the franchise's four films—The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and the two-part Mockingjay sequels—alongside Jennifer Lawrence (as Katniss Everdeen) and Liam Hemsworth (as Gale Hawthorne). And while he's not as involved in the prequel movies, he still remembers his time on set for the original films.
In fact, the Five Nights at Freddy's actor admitted that he faced some personal downsides while working on the final movie. "I was like, 'F--k that,'" he told Variety in November. "I got thrust into a place of notoriety that I never dreamed of, never wanted. It took my privacy away." Though Josh wasn't prepared for that new level of fame, he's grown accustomed to feeling comfortable in the spotlight. And with him finding that balance, he noted that he's open to reviving his Hunger Games character in any future sequels. "I would love to be back on set with [director] Francis [Lawrence], with Jen, with Liam, with Woody [Harrelson]," he said. "It would not take any convincing at all. I'd be there in a heartbeat."
