Thresh And Rue Cast In ‘The Hunger Games’
DirectorGary Rosshas just cast two important supporting roles in his adaptation of theSuzanne CollinsbookThe Hunger Games. He’d already announced that Oscar-nomineeJennifer Lawrencewould play Katniss Everdeen, the main character, and that her main men –Peeta and Gale– would be portrayed byJosh HutchersonandLiam Hemsworthrespectively. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
In the story, the government selects two children, called “tributes,” from each of the 12 districts to compete in the titular games, a televised battle to the death. Katniss and Peeta are from District 12 and now the District 11 tributes Thresh, a big, burly male and Rue, a small but capable female, have been given faces. They’ll be portrayed by newcomersDayo OkeniyiandAmanda Stenberg. Read more after the jump.
Entertainment Weeklyexclusively broke the casting news, which was then announced on the officialHunger GamesFacebook page.
According to EW, “Okeniyi … has appeared in a short calledEyes to Seeand an upcoming horror film,Slew Hampshire. Stenberg … has roles in the September’sColombianaand the telefilmTaste of Romance.”
Just by the structure of the story, it’s not hard to discern the ultimate fates of these two newly cast characters. But if you’d like to really get a good look, the character of Rue was dramatized in this awesome fan filmwe highlighted a few months back:
Other than Katniss, Peeta and Gale, Thresh and Rue were arguably the most important tributes that needed to be cast. Now that they’re all set, the big announcement still to come is who will play Haymitch, the drunken former winner of The Hunger Games who becomes the mentor to Katniss and Peeta.
What do you think about Ross going with unknowns for these roles? Is this what you pictured when you read the book?
