The Hunger Games cast ages: How old was the cast then (and now)?

Thousands of Netflix subscribers are revisiting the beloved YA dystopian films from The Hunger Games film series right now thanks to the streaming service adding all four movies to the catalog. As such, there has been an increased search for people curious about the ages of the main cast during filming.

Part of what makes The Hunger Games so horrific is that the tributes involved are almost always teenagers, and sometimes even pre-teens as young as 12 years old. That’s one reason Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute in place of her sister, Primrose (or “Prim”), who was just 12 when Effie Trinket drew her name at the Reaping. Another competitor, Rue, is also 12.

Watching the movies, you might wonder how old the actors that played characters like Katniss, Peeta Mellark, and Gale Hawthorne were in real life at the time. Katniss was only 16 in the first movie, but how old was actress Jennifer Lawrence? Keep reading to find out the cast ages at the time of filming and how old the actors are today.

Jennifer Lawrence

Born on August 15, 1990, Jennifer Lawrence is 33 years old today. She was 21 at the time of filming The Hunger Games, meaning she was five years older than her on-screen counterpart Katniss Everdeen, who was 16 at the start of the games. Lawrence was 22 during the filming of Catching Fire and 23 during the production of Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2.

Lawrence has obviously kept herself plenty busy since the iconic YA franchise premiered, going on to become the second-youngest Oscar winner for her work in Silver Linings Playbook. Most recently, she starred in the hard-R comedy film No Hard Feelings (now on Netflix!) and she has multiple productions in the works including Die, My Love with director Lynne Ramsey

Liam Hemsworth

Born on January 13, 1990, Liam Hemsworth is 34 years old today. He was 21 at the time of filming The Hunger Games, meaning he was only four years older than his on-screen counterpart Gale Hawthorne, who is two years older than Katniss and around 18 at the start of the games. Hemsworth was 22 during the filming of Catching Fire and 24 during the production of Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2.

Like his co-stars, Liam Hemsworth has kept pretty busy over the years, but the biggest news these days is Hemsworth getting cast as Geralt of Rivia in Netflix's series The Witcher, replacing Henry Cavill. He'll officially take over in the upcoming fourth season.

Josh Hutcherson

Josh Hutcherson is the youngest of the central trio, having been born on October 12, 1992, making him 31 today. His character, Peeta Mellark, was 16 in the first movie, and Hutcherson was only 18 at the time of filming, so he was just a little older than his character. He would have been 20 when filming Catching Fire and then 21 while filming the final two films in the franchise.

Hutcherson had a big year in 2023 with the release of the Five Nights at Freddy's and the 2024 movie The Beekeeper. He has several projects lined up, including returning for the Five Nights at Freddy's sequel, which is currently in development.

Amandla Stenberg

Rue was just 12 when she competed in the Hunger Games and her actress, Amandla Stenberg, was also 12. She was born on October 23, 1998, and is currently 25. Since Stenberg’s character died in the first movie, she was not in the sequels.

Since The Hunger Games, she went on to star in Bodies Bodies Bodies, The Darkest Minds, The Hate U Give, and next she'll star in the Star Wars series The Acolyte.

Jena Malone

Jena Malone joined the cast during the second film, Catching Fire, as the fan-favorite character Johanna Mason. Johanna was around 21 in the movie, and Malone was 28. Today, the actress is 39, born November 21, 1984. She would have been 29 while filming both parts of Mockingjay.

Malone has stayed plenty busy in the years since wrapping the dystopian YA franchise, appearing in movies like Consecration, Rebel Moon, Stardust, Antebellum, and most recently, Love Lies Bleeding. Next she'll star in Kevin Costner's Western epic Horizon: An American Saga and the comedy-drama film Little Death.

Sam Claflin

Like Malone, Sam Claflin joined the cast of The Hunger Games film series during the second movie as another fan-fave, Finnick Odair. Finnick was meant to be 24 years old in the film, and, in real life, Claflin was 26. His birthday is June 27, 1986, making him 37 today and 27 when filming Mockingjay.

After he was done playing Finnick, Claflin has continued starring in movies like Last Night in Soho, Enola Holmes, The Corrupted, My Cousin Rachel, Me Before You, Charlie's Angels, and the Prime Video series Daisy Jones & the Six. You'll see Claflin again in The Count of Monte Cristo and the Harlan Coben show Lazarus.