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Jennifer Lawrence: 'Hunger Games' Training, Lenny Kravitz Joins Film

Jennifer Lawrence

First Posted: 05/24/11 12:14 PM ET Updated: 07/24/11 06:12 AM ET

Even the toughest young actress in Hollywood has to amp up the training if she wants to win a to-the-death battle royale.

Jennifer Lawrence is no stranger to physicality -- the 20-year old Kentucky native grew up wrangling wild horses on her family's farm, and used that Appalachian toughness to work her way through both the stark poverty and violence of "Winter's Bone" and the mutant action of "X-Men: First Class." But for her biggest role yet, Katniss in "The Hunger Games," she's had to up the training to a new level.

"It's lots of training," she told MTV, "but the training's actually really fun. I've done archery for about six weeks, and rock climbing, tree climbing—and combat, running and vaulting. But also yoga and things like that, to stay catlike!"

The work is paying off; she recently appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, giving the world its first glimpses of her teenage warrior style.

In addition, it was revealed late Monday that rocker/actor Lenny Kravitz had joined the cast, playing Katniss' fashion stylist Cinna. He joins including Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth as Katniss' close friends Peeta and Gale in the semi-apocalyptic youth fighting tournament from which the film derives its name, as well as Elizabeth Banks as her guide Elfie Trinket, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy.

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Even the toughest young actress in Hollywood has to amp up the training if she wants to win a to-the-death battle royale. Jennifer Lawrence is no stranger to physicality -- the 20-year old Kentucky...
Even the toughest young actress in Hollywood has to amp up the training if she wants to win a to-the-death battle royale. Jennifer Lawrence is no stranger to physicality -- the 20-year old Kentucky...
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02:39 PM on 06/17/2011
Uh, I understand that Katniss' region, in the book, is located in the geographical area of what used to be Appalachia prior to the apocalypse. But Louisville, Kentucky is not located in Appalachia. If Jennifer has "toughness" it was derived in Lu'ville, not Appalachia.
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chaserblue
Shaving my legs with Occam's razor
08:38 AM on 05/26/2011
I like this youngster, a lot. I was extremely impressed with her work in Winter's Bone. She's got the acting chops to take on about any role. As long as she stays smart about the parts she takes and doesn't fall into the BS hype, she's going to go far.
Cinquopated
Your micro-bio is either half-empty or half-full
05:29 AM on 05/26/2011
I hope the same thing doesn't happen to her that happened to Scarlet Johanson. She started out in good films and looked like a real person, a real likable person, and then once popularity hit turned up in more and more advertisement looking increasingly fake. Jennifer Lawrence still looks like a real person. I hope it stays that way
02:36 PM on 05/25/2011
As long as Jennifer Lawrence does not get size zero skinny, she will look great and it will be a nice change to see a different looking actress than the roster of blonde / brunette carbon copies out there. Case in point Emma Stone, who showed promise in her normal size last year and has since shrunk to stick thin Sharon Stone wannabe looking ten years older and facial wrinkles to boot. And she is just 23.
07:31 PM on 05/25/2011
Who is Sharon Stone?
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12:20 PM on 05/25/2011
x-men is/will a bigger role than Hunger Games. thou both will franchises.
07:32 PM on 05/25/2011
Good luck with the learning of the English.
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European1919
I am the Pigmâ’¶n
07:50 AM on 05/25/2011
"Even the toughest young actress in Hollywood has to amp up the training if she wants to win a to-the-death battle royale."

It's RAMP UP, not AMP UP. Don't any of the HuPo staff have English as their native tongue?
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09:41 AM on 05/25/2011
"amp up" is used as slang in America, as in 'amplify'
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Said One
07:03 AM on 05/25/2011
She looks wonderful as a blond
04:18 PM on 05/24/2011
I've only read the first book in this series, and I found it to be exciting in parts, but the author did not want to sully the character of Katniss, and so made her a bit unrealistic. (Spoilers ahead) If I had to go into a life or death competition, I would psych myself up for the fact that I was going to have to kill people. Katniss is never really determined to kill to win, and she ends up killing the other competitors indirectly. For instance, she drops a nest of genetically altered wasps on some of her rivals. Katniss' inability to decide between Peeta and Gale also becomes rather tiresome. If you like "The Hunger Games," you might like Mary Renault's novels about Theseus, which I suspect influenced Suzanne Collins.
01:55 PM on 05/24/2011
Sorry, don't know who you are so I don't care how you lost your fat.
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ExcellentObservation
I've made some terrible decisions sober.
05:04 PM on 05/24/2011
Sorry, don't know who you are so I don't care that you don't care how she lost her fat.
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ProfWagstaff
Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted.
09:40 PM on 05/24/2011
Sorry I don't care who you are.
01:25 PM on 05/24/2011
Please check your geography. Jennifer Lawrence is from Louisville, KY. That is not Appalachia.
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Trudy Trejo
Corporation = People = Romney = Obama = Perry = Cl
01:48 PM on 05/24/2011
For the average Huff Po reader any part of the US outside of Manhattan, Beverly Hills or a college campus is Appalachia.
03:04 PM on 05/24/2011
You win the comment of the day award!
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blisster
Need more micro-bio fuel for my mitochondria
03:27 PM on 05/24/2011
Appalachia a state remote mindlessness...kinda like a libertarian snow globle world.
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liberalarmyfamily
let them eat blue velvet cake!
01:04 PM on 05/24/2011
Cannot wait for this movie~ I've always got sick of these adults into Twillight and so forth but here I am....But really, this book is very deep and thought provoking...at least that's my excuse anyway....
01:44 PM on 05/24/2011
Agreed. I've never read anything involving sparkly vampires or teenage wizards, but picked up Hunger Games on the strong recommendation of a friend, and really enjoyed the first two books (the third is on my short-list of books to read next).
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liberalarmyfamily
let them eat blue velvet cake!
01:55 PM on 05/24/2011
yay, you knew what I meant! The third book is slower for me. I read the first two in a day or so but this one is slower for me...
01:04 PM on 05/24/2011
Winter's Bone was easily one of my favorite movies last year, but I'm not so sure of JL as Katniss... I don't have any trouble with the skin color --and be no means is JL overweight-- but the character is supposed to be a scrawny, half-starved teenager. JL looks like a bow-ckicka-wow-wow woman to me. She's certainly earned the benefit of my doubt, though.
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libwithaclue
N Y C - L I B - M O U S......
01:11 PM on 05/24/2011
She should have won the Best Actress Oscar for Bones. Oscar voters are brain-dead.
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Z trufflesniffer
My Micro-bio is still empty
03:14 PM on 05/25/2011
I thoroughly loved Winter's Bone and had to be begged to see it. It was wonderful!
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John Orr
retired newspaperman
12:55 PM on 05/24/2011
pIMPIMNG THE x-MEN FILM Go AOL
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sabelmouse
my micro bio is emty
12:13 PM on 05/24/2011
katniss is petite, scrawny and not white.
so not jennifer. hair dye wont fix it. as for the rest. to quote my daughter.
'' this movie is taking miscasting to a whole new level ''.
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BlackJAC
It's better to be a black king than a white knight
12:28 PM on 05/24/2011
God forbid an Oscar nominee be cast, huh?
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sabelmouse
my micro bio is emty
12:47 PM on 05/24/2011
what does that have to do with anything. she's wrong for the role. simples.
12:57 PM on 05/24/2011
My daughter said the same thing and from reading the book, I have to agree. Oscar nominee or not, she's not Katniss, even with the dye job. They're doing the same thing wrong that they did with The Last Airbender with miscasting roles. Hopefully this won't screw up the whole franchise. One good thing however, Shamalan is not directing!
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sabelmouse
my micro bio is emty
07:41 AM on 05/25/2011
there are few books that are being done justice by film makers. miss casting the lead is not a good start.
not just the lead. according to my daughter most people so far.
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drp103
System On
12:08 PM on 05/24/2011
hot hot hot