Josh Hutcherson - Hunger Games Cast, Facts and Childhood

Josh Hutcherson was born on October 12, 1992 in the city of Union, Kentucky, USA. His father Chris Hutcherson was an analyst at the United States Environmental Protection Agency, while his mother Michelle was a Delta Airlines employee. He also has a younger brother named Cannon.

At the age of four, Josh began to show fondness for the entertainment industry. Although he was enrolled at New Haven Elementary School in Union he did not continue for long. He was more interested in acting.

During his childhood, he took part in a Kroger television commercial and also acted in a film about Vacation Bible School training. However, he wanted to do more and so at the age of eight, he began to look for a suitable acting agency. Sensing his eagerness, his parents decided to let him try.

Michele, his mother, met acting coach Bob Luke and on his advice decided to take him to Los Angeles. Once there, nine year old Josh began auditioning for various TV programs. At the same time, he continued his education at home under his mother’s tutelage.

Some time later, he returned to Union and attended Ryle High School for one semester. He found it rather monotonous. However, he liked playing soccer and developed a lifelong passion for sports. He later went back to Hollywood to pursue his acting career.

Josh started his acting career at the age of ten. In 2002, Josh started performing in various television commercials. The same year, he got major roles in the pilot episodes of ‘House Blend’ and ‘Becoming Glen’. He also acted in one episode of ‘ER’.

2003 was a good year for Josh. In this year, he played the leading role in ‘Miracle Dogs’. It was a television film, where he played the role of Charlie Logan. Later in the same year, he played the role of Chris Mores in another television film called ‘Wilder Days’ and greatly impressed co-star Tim Daly.

’American Splendor’ his first feature film, was also shot in 2003. Here, he played the part of a boy dressed as Robin. The film received the Grand Jury at Sundance Film Festival.

Next year in 2004, young Josh appeared in a computer animated musical fantasy film called ‘The Polar Express’. In the same year, he lent his voice to the character of Marki in another animated fantasy film called ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’.

In 2005, he appeared in number of Hollywood films such as ‘Kicking and Screaming’, ‘Little Manhattan’ and ‘Zathura’. In ‘Little Manhattan’, Josh played the part of the main protagonist 10 year old Gabe and greatly impressed the critics. In ‘Zathura’ too he acted in the lead role.

In 2007, Josh appeared in a comedy film called ’RV’. However, the real breakthrough came in 2007 when he was offered the role of Jesse Aarons in ‘Bridge to Terabithia’, a fantasy drama shot in New Zealand. Young Josh Hutcherson not only enjoyed the location, but also received positive review.

In the same year, he also appeared in a family film called ‘Fire House Dog’. In this film he had to befriend four different dogs and enjoyed the experience. Although the film received mixed review, Hutcherson’s work was greatly appreciated.

In 2008, Hutcherson appeared in a crime drama called ‘Winged Creatures’ and in a sci-fi film ‘Journey to the Center of The Earth’. The latter is based on a novel of the same name.

In 2009, Hutcherson appeared in ’Cirque du Freak: The Vampires’ Assistance’ as Steve Leopard Leonard. In 2010, Josh played the part of Laser Allgood in ‘The Kids Are all Right’ (2010). The film played a pivotal role in his career. He also starred in ‘The Third Rule’ in 2010 and ‘Detention’ in 2011.

‘The Hunger Games’ (2012) was the next big opportunity to come his way. In this film he enacted the role of Peeta Mellark. When sequels to the film were made Josh was automatically selected for the part. The sequels are: ‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ (2013), ‘Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I’ (2014) and ‘Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II (2015).

Apart from ‘The Hunger Games’ series, Josh Hutcherson had other releases too in 2012. They were: ‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’, ‘7 Days in Havana’, ‘The Forger’, and ’Red Dawn’. He also starred in ‘Epic’ (2013) and ‘Escobar: Paradise Lost’ (2015).

Along with acting, Josh Hutcherson has also tried his hand at production. He was the Executive Producer of two of his films; Detention (2011) and ‘The Forger’ (2012)

While ‘The Kids Are all Right’ played a pivotal role in his career ‘The Hunger Games’ actually turned Josh Hutcherson into a star. Until then, he was just a child actor; but after this film he became a star in his own right.

His most commercially successful film is ’The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’. It brought in $420 million at the North American box office.

Josh Hutcherson has received eight Young Artist Award nominations. Out of that he won four. For ‘Polar Express’ he received Outstanding Young Ensemble in a New Medium awards. He also received Best Performance in a Feature Film (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actor award for his role in ‘Zathura’.

Josh also won the Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor award and Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast award for ‘Bridge to Terabithia’.

He also received six nominations for his role in ‘The Kids Are all Right’ and won the Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Ensemble Cast.

Josh is also the youngest recipient of Vanguard Award, which honors those who work for the cause of LGBT community. He also received Young Humanitarian Award at the 2015 ‘unite4:humanity’ award ceremony.

Josh Hutcherson is single and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. He professes that he loves his job more than anything else in the world and cannot think of doing anything else. About his sexual orientation, he says that he is ‘mostly straight’.

Hutcherson is an LGBT activist and works for the advancement of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Such involvements may have stemmed from a family tragedy involving two of his gay uncles who died from AIDS related diseases. His campaign ‘Straight But Not Narrow’ is aimed at promoting equal rights for the community.

Twenty three years old Josh Hutcherson is now one of the highest paid actors in the world. As of 2015, he had a net worth of US $ 5.5 million.