While there have been so many adaptations of young adult novels over the years, The Hunger Games stands among the most popular and successful, with a large part of that being thanks to the stellar work of the lead actors. The initial four films based on Suzanne Collins’ first three books in the series, centered on Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and Gale Hawthorne, played by Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth, respectively.

The franchise made all three actors into household names and they received strong critical reception for their performances. In 2023, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the prequel entry of the series, was released, focusing on a young President Snow and Lucy Gray Baird, played by Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, who also received widespread acclaim for their work. The acting of all five was impressive enough that it makes it tough to determine who was the best of the bunch.

Liam Hemsworth

Gale Hawthorne

While Liam Hemsworth was good in The Hunger Games series, it was always going to be difficult for him to be the best of the cast. Gale Hawthorne is a character who gets the least to do of the bunch, especially early on. He spends the first film mostly sidelined while Katniss and Peeta are in the arena and that’s the case for a good chunk of Catching Fire. However, in both installments of Mockingjay, Gale gets more time to shine as one of the key members of the rebellion.

That’s where Liam Hemsworth shines the brightest. He does a good job of portraying the soldier and coming across as someone who was willing to go to great lengths to achieve their goals. Hemsworth also has some touching scenes whenever Gale has to have a heart-to-heart with Katniss as the actor shared strong chemistry with Jennifer Lawrence. Again though, Gale doesn’t get enough to work with when compared to the other leads of the franchise, regardless of how good Hemsworth’s performance is.

Josh Hutcherson

Peeta Mellark

The acting in young adult novel adaptations isn’t typically the kind of thing that gets praise heaped on it but it’s one of the bright spots of The Hunger Games, evidenced by Josh Hutcherson not being ranked near the top when it comes to performances. Hutcherson really broke out thanks to the franchise and in a lot of ways, he comes across as the heart of the series. Right from the start, the love triangle between Peeta, Gale, and Katniss is evident but the romance that blossoms between Peeta and Katniss gets more time to develop.

Hutcherson sells the character’s feelings for Katniss in a way that makes the audience believe in it completely. Whether it’s the way they interact in the arena or the pivotal scene where he confesses his love, Hutcherson’s performance is sometimes a show stealer. The most impressive effort from Hutcherson comes in the later installments, especially when Peeta is taken by the Capitol.

Peeta being manipulated by the Capitol leads to scenes where he has to try and quell the rebellion on TV. It’s impressive the way Hutcherson is able to toe the line between seeming like he’s actually working for the Capitol and looking like someone who is being controlled by them. Hutcherson also acting as the brainwashed version of Peeta showcased his versatile talents.

Tom Blyth

Coriolanus Snow

One disadvantage that the actors in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes had when compared to those from the original films is that they didn’t get as much time to develop their characters. Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler only had one movie to flesh out Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray Baird, so it’s telling how good they were that they did so much in so little time. Blyth had an especially tough job given that he was playing a character who the audience knows they’ll eventually grow to hate.

He goes on to become President Snow, the main antagonist of Katniss’ story, yet here he’s someone the viewers are meant to root for. Blyth is masterful at silently showing the emotions of a conflicted man. Snow believes in the Capitol that he was raised in, yet is changed by the feelings he develops for Lucy Gray and it starts to change his worldview. The fact that he’s torn between his believed duty and wanting to be with Lucy Gray makes for a layered, complex character.

Tom Blyth stood tall next to some acting greats, including Viola Davis, in some of the film’s best scenes. He’s able to make everyone believe in this character’s growth as a person followed by him ultimately breaking bad, killing Dean Casca Highbottom, and beginning his rise to power. Blyth was a relative unknown before landing this role and his performance was strong enough that many are expecting big things from him going forward.

Rachel Zegler

Lucy Gray Baird

Rachel Zegler is new to major movies but she’s already shown that she is immensely talented. She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in her big screen debut in West Side Story and her performance in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is just as good, if not better. Lucy Gray Baird represents a different kind of hero for the franchise after the more action-oriented Katniss Everdeen. That means Zegler had to deliver something totally different from the work Jennifer Lawrence did before her.

Lucy Gray is a beautiful, sweet soul who is kind to everyone and Zegler sells that so well. Everything that Lucy Gray does while in the arena feels real because of Zegler’s performance. She’s terrified at times throughout and she truly feels overmatched, with Zegler showcasing every emotion expertly. Her relationship with Coriolanus is where Zegler truly shines though.

The two actors share electric chemistry and help carry the film in a way that even Lawrence and Hutcherson couldn’t match. It’s a romance that’s believable and you can understand what it leads to for both characters. Even if reviews for the film weren’t the strongest in the franchise, heavy praise went to Zegler’s performance. In fact, she and Blythe were both nominated for Saturn Awards.

Jennifer Lawrence

Katniss Everdeen

When starting any kind of movie franchise, whether it’s an adaptation or something original, the most important aspect is typically making sure the lead actor is perfectly cast. The MCU needed Robert Downey Jr., Alien needed Sigourney Weaver, and The Hunger Games needed Jennifer Lawrence. Without her, it’s likely the series doesn’t take off the way it did because she embodied everything that Katniss Everdeen was on the page.

When she was cast as Katniss, Lawrence was already on the cusp of a breakout thanks to a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for Winter’s Bone. That let the world know that this was a woman who could act and she moved into superstar status thanks to The Hunger Games. Lawrence shined as Katniss, whether it was as the loving big sister who stepped up for Primrose, the fighter in the arena, or the uneasy leader of the rebellion.

It takes a lot to carry four movies, yet Jennifer Lawrence does it in impressive fashion. That’s especially true in the first film because a large chunk of it is just her trying to survive in the arena on her own. Watching her develop over the series into the leader that she becomes is one of the reasons the series worked so well, with Lawrence carrying so much of it. She won a Critics’ Choice Award and a Saturn Award for her outstanding performance.