Josh Hutcherson looks back on 'Spider Man' audition before 'Hunger Games'

Josh Hutcherson became the face of The Hunger Games series after suffering a major setback in his acting career, which left him quite dejected.

The 33-year-old actor opened up about almost missing out on the iconic role but ultimately finding what he was fated for during a recent interview.

Following the exciting news of Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence reprising their roles in the upcoming prequel movie, the actor appeared on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s on Me podcast and shared the nostalgic moment he got the role for the first time.

"It was wild. It was crazy. Just like a few months before I got cast in Hunger Games, I was in the running to be Spider-Man," Hutcherson recalled about playing Peeta Mellark.

He continued, "And so I had gotten told 'no' to Spider-Man, which as a teenager felt heartbreaking because I really obviously wanted to be Spider-Man."

However, the Beekeeper star’s life took a 360-degree turn as he got the Hunger Games role only a few months later.

While Andrew Garfield became the Spider-Man, Hutcherson appeared in all the original Hunger Games movies, and only recently revealed that he will join the franchise again for the 2026 release, Sunrise on the Reaping.