Jennifer Lawrence’s Hunger Games Co-Star Recalls How She Got ‘Smacked’ In The Butt During On-Set Snafu

It’s hard to believe for those who grew up with them, but the original Hunger Games movies with Jennifer Lawrence were filmed over a decade ago. Now, as we get ready for the new prequel to premiere on the 2026 movie schedule, her co-star Sam Claflin shared a funny “bum cheek” snafu that happened on the set of Catching Fire.

Of course, Claflin played Finnick Odair in the second Hunger Games movie from 2013, who was back in the arena for the 75th Hunger Games when past winners were chosen to compete again. Here’s what the British actor recently recalled from the shoot:

Most sets don’t have to deal with a trident, but since that’s something Finnick carries around, it ended up being a bit of a hazard, especially for Jennifer Lawrence. Claflin told the story to People as he promoted his latest role in the new series, Lazarus. He added that J-Law had someone take a photo of the “welt” that the trident injury caused, which was the “same shape as the circular end” of his trident right on her “bum cheek.”

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The story is one of “many fond memories” Sam Claflin has from the set of The Hunger Games movies. Finnick Odair was introduced in Catching Fire, but the character ends up playing a big role in the two Mockingjay movies that came after that. The Daisy Jones and the Six actor also talked about recently reuniting with the director of those movies, Francis Lawrence, to watch his recent film, The Long Walk, which is an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name.

Claflin said he was “reminiscing” with the director about filming Hunger Games, and he was “trying” to get a cameo role in his next one, Sunrise on the Reaping, which is the latest book-to-screen adaptation from Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games universe. Sadly, Claflin’s character wouldn’t make sense in the 2026 release because his character isn’t alive yet. However, there’s been a lot of desire for the character to get his own prequel, and even Francis Lawrence has shared an interest in a Finnick movie should Collins write a story for him.

Claflin isn’t the only actor who’s recently talked about wanting to come back since Josh Hutcherson said just last week that it wouldn’t take “any convincing at all” for him to play Peeta again. Anyway, we can’t wait to hear from the new cast about what happened on the set of Sunrise on the Reaping soon (but hopefully it doesn't include Trident-related injuries). The movie comes out on November 20, 2026.