It’s 2026 and Jennifer Lawrence is a household name. She’s been nominated for four Academy Awards, and won one. Her movies, including the successful Hunger Games franchise, have grossed over $6 billion globally and earned plenty of critical acclaim. In between that, she’s gotten married and lived out her dream of becoming a mother. But there was a time in between all of this where her future was a whole lot more of a question mark, until she made a choice that led to her being too famous for normal people things.
You may remember Lawrence’s meteoric rise to fame after signing on for The Hunger Games, but just a couple of years before that she’d been an indie darling, starring in the movie Winter’s Bone. As an actress she knew her “job” would be “very closely connected” with her personal life, and she thought for a long while she’d stick with the indie track.
She said as much to Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes during an episode of the “SmartLess” podcast, revealing that she thought she was on one path in Hollywood until the moment she was given a choice to take on something bigger and bolder, but with potentially more downside.
Winter’s Bone happens, it was an indie, I still kind of felt like I was gonna be an indie actress. Because I had starred in a couple other things that were small, and I had gotten, like, little awards for them. Two other jobs. So, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m right on track, I’m gonna be like the indie lady.’ Then, I auditioned for The Hunger Games. And when I booked The Hunger Games it was the same kind of season as awards season… I got famous just for booking Hunger Games.
She's said before that signing on for The Hunger Games made her "afraid," and separately called it an "awesome responsibility." However, this time she opened up about how it happened so fast.
The Moment Jennifer Aniston Realized She Was Too Famous To Get Out And About
In Hollywood, it’s not uncommon to see famous people out and about in stores, on hikes, or even at restaurants. In fact, when I lived out there, I spotted Jennifer Lawrence at Lisa Vanderpump’s then-hotspot Pump. I clearly knew who she was by that point, but the actress says there was a time she could do things more anonymously in Tinseltown.
In fact, she can recall the specific moment she realized she was “too famous” and would not longer be able to do some of the things she really loved.
I used to do the Santa Monica stairs. And I remember thinking like, ‘I don’t think I can do the Santa Monica stairs anymore. I’m too famous.’
It wasn’t so easy to decide to upend her life. She told the podcast that Twilight had been a catalyst for her almost saying no. She liked hiking in LA, and she remembered helicopters following the main Twilight cast when they were simply “trying to live in a guest house.” (The Twilight fandom was def crazy and Kellen Lutz has spoken on record about fans trying to barge into his hotel room, as one example.) She said she honestly thought “it didn’t seem like a nice life,” but there were perks to having that level of fame, too.
I thought about it, then I said yes, and I don’t regret it.
Ultimately, it all worked out. The Hunger Games filmed at the same time she landed lauds for roles like Silver Linings Playbook and cemented her role as an A-lister. Lawrence said she became “the most famous person in the world,” noting it happened “fast.” But she roomed with her best friend and tried to do other things to normalize her life as much as possible.
It all worked out how it was meant to, and Lawrence still has fond memories of playing Katniss Evergreen and working within the franchise. In fact, she and Josh Hutcherson are expected to be back when Sunrise on the Reaping hits the 2026 schedule later this year.
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