“The chances are, if I was auditioning, [I] was going to book it. That is just not the reality at all.”

Josh Hutcherson says he only experienced ‘disappointment, failure, rejection’ after *The Hunger Games *films

"The chances are, if I was auditioning, [I] was going to book it. That is just not the reality at all."

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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December 9, 2025 5:21 p.m. ET

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Josh Hutcherson in 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1'. Credit:

Murray Close/Lionsgate

- Josh Hutcherson is opening up about a difficult period following the release of the final film in *The Hunger Games *franchise.

- "I didn't learn rejection ever. I knew only success, from the age 9 to, like, 24," he revealed on Tuesday's new episode of the *Dinner's On Me *podcast.

- Once he was released from his obligations as the brave and compassionate Peeta Mellark, however, Hutcherson "tasted my first feeling of disappointment, failure, rejection" when trying to land other roles.

Josh Hutcherson thought Hollywood would be his oyster after *The Hunger Games*. He didn't expect it to usher in the most challenging chapter in his career.

The *I Love L.A. *star spoke about the shock of coming off *The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 *into an endless loop of unsuccessful auditions during Tuesday's new episode of the *Dinner's On Me *podcast hosted by *Modern Family*'s Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

"I didn't learn rejection ever. I knew only success, from the age 9 to, like, 24, then kind of post *Hunger Games* world. Because *Hunger Games* set things up," he explained. "The industry is so goddamn tricky, because they set you up in this way where they're like, 'You've arrived. You now are working with Jennifer Lawrence and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and you're in this movie that makes billions of dollars, you're the second lead of the film.'"

Hutcherson reflected that he had been made to feel that "the kingdom is yours," when in fact, "it's not at all."

Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence in 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'.

Murray Close/Lionsgate

"As quickly as they're excited to get you into that spotlight, they want to not give you anything else in a way," Hutcherson explained. "It's very complicated. So I tasted my first feeling of disappointment, failure, rejection, probably when I was 24 or so, 25."

Ferguson, who has been candid about his own struggles in Hollywood before and after booking his signature role of Mitchell Pritchett on the ABC sitcom *Modern Family*, pressed Hutcherson to describe what specifically caused that disappointed, rejected feeling.

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"It was just like a string of no one calling, not getting any offers, auditioning, but not getting cast. It's this whole thing of, 'Oh wow, I have my career that I've had since I was 9 years old. It's always worked. I always got cast.' Of course, there are things that you don't get cast in, but I had only known that the chances are, if I was auditioning, [I] was going to book it. That is just not the reality at all."****

How to watch the 'Hunger Games' movies in order (chronologically and by release date)

Josh Hutcherson responds to Quentin Tarantino saying 'Hunger Games' 'ripped off' another movie

Hutcherson was cast in the first *Hunger Games *movie in 2011, when he was only 18. By that time, however, he had already appeared in a dozen and a half films, like *The Kids Are Alright*, *Bridge to Terebithia*, and the family comedy *RV*, which costarred Robin Williams as his character's father.

The 33-year-old Kentucky native did work steadily after *The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 *concluded the franchise in 2015, but where he made five films in 2012 alone, he made five in total between 2018 and 2023.

The actor has recently staged a major comeback, however, appearing in the hit HBO comedy* I Love L.A.*, and starring in this past weekend's box office topper *Five Nights at Freddy's 2*.

You can listen to Hutcherson's full appearance on the *Dinner's On Me *podcast above.

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