‘The Hunger Games’: Jennifer Lawrence’s Archery Coach Would Pinch Her Ear
Though Jennifer Lawrence has starred in many popular movies, her role in The Hunger Games franchise is one of her most memorable. In the films, Lawrence plays a teenage girl living within a dystopian society. When her little sister, Prim, is selected for the annual deadly games, Katniss volunteers to go in her stead. Against the odds, Katniss is able to avoid death thanks to her intellect, luck, survival skills, and penchant for archery.
Jennifer Lawrence had an extremely strict archery instructor
Because being adept with a bow and arrow was a huge part of Katniss’ personality, Lawrence had to undergo a ton of training. Prior to filming The Hunger Games, she was assigned a coach who helped her become skilled at the sport. According to the Don’t Look Up star, her coach was pretty tough on her, wanting to make sure that her form was as good as it could be. However, her coach’s strictness didn’t stop the actor from enjoying the sport.
“I really, really enjoyed archery,” Lawrence revealed in an interview with NPR. “I had an amazing instructor, Khatuna [Lorig]. She was Georgian. She was an excellent instructor — very, very strict. If I had bad form, she would pinch my ear. She didn’t really put up with anything.”
Constantly shooting a bow and arrow changed the actor’s body forever
Lawrence’s archery training was so intense that it actually altered her body. Still, The Hunger Games star didn’t seem to mind the sacrifices that she had to make for the sake of the sport. “It totally changed my body,” Lawrence explained. “It was so crazy, when I went back for the fitting for the second movie for Catching Fire, my shoulders were 2 inches broader and my right arm is 1 inch longer than my left arm, permanently, I guess. But I really enjoy it.”
Lawrence had tons of physical training to prepare for her role in ‘The Hunger Games’
Archery was hardly the only part of Lawrence’s physical training for The Hunger Games. She also trained in climbing, combat, free-running, yoga, agility, and running to prepare to play Katniss. But despite the many physical demands of the role, that wasn’t the most challenging part of playing Katniss for her. In an interview with Collider, Lawrence shared that she was most intimidated by the fact that she was playing such a well-known character.
Lawrence reveals the most difficult part of portraying Katniss Everdeen
“Normally, when you’re coming out with a movie, nobody has really seen the character before,” Lawrence revealed when speaking about The Hunger Games. “You’re just giving it to them. I’m playing a character that most people have already had in their mind, and heard her speak in their mind and seen her. That’s a scary thing to go into, knowing that so many people already have pictures or an idea of what your character is.”
Despite the challenges that The Hunger Games presented, Lawrence seems to have fared pretty well. Years later, Katniss remains one of her most iconic roles.
