Hunger Games exclusive with Jodelle Ferland

Alright, now that I’ve got my full Hunger Games breakdown out of the way I can bring you my exclusive chat with Canadian actress Jodelle Ferland. The 16-year-old is best known for playing the role of newborn vampire Bree Tanner in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. But the teen has over a decade of acting experience behind her and at the age of four, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award, the youngest nominee in history, for her part in TV movie Mermaid.

She’s gone on to forge a successful career, from child to young adult actress, with starring roles in everything from Terry Gilliam’s Tideland to supporting parts in TV series such as Supernatural, Smallville and Stargate: Atlantis. But Ferland has gained a cult following for meaty roles in a swag of horror films such as Silent Hill, The Messengers and Case 39 – that’s not to mention her upcoming parts in Joss Whedon’s Cabin In The Woods and The Tall Man with Jessica Biel.Ferland fanatics really had something to get excited about last Halloween when the self-confessed book lover posted pictures of herself dressed as Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games trilogy on her Twitter account (pics above). And sure, it was a home made effort, but the girl sure looked the part! With news that Lions Gate were developing a film based on the first book, Hunger Games-heads went into overdrive speculating about her fierce desire to be cast as Katniss. Although she was quick to downplay any such ambition, I had the opportunity to chat to the incredibly well-spoken teen yesterday and she confirmed she is vying for the role. Unfortunately, so too is every other young actress in Hollywood. Here’s a snippet of our interview.

Movie Mazzupial: As far as other popular young adult books-to-movies go, I was looking at your photos thinking `she would make a great Katniss Everdeen’ and then I heard you were interested in the role, is that right? Have you auditioned?

Jodelle Ferland: Any sane 16-year-old girl would be interested in the role of Katniss, but we’ll see. It would make my life (complete) if I could have that part. I love the books. I’m a big reader and read pretty much anything I can get my hands and those books are amazing. To get that part would be amazing. I believe they’re still auditioning now and they might go older or they might go younger, but I have my fingers crossed. If not the part of Katniss, there’s plenty of opportunity with the other tributes to play a supporting role or something.

MM: Well yeah, if not Katniss you could play one of the career tributes or a character from The Hob.

JF: Yeah, exactly.

MM: So, if you’ve auditioned . . . you must have read some of the script? Please tell me it’s faithful to the book. As a fan, are you happy with the approach they’re taking?

JF: I’d rather not talk too much specifically about the movie, but I’m excited to see how it turns out and I hope they do a good job. I think they will.

MM: Fine, keep your secrets. Katniss is certainly a very unique character. What is it about her that’s made you hungry for this role?

JF: It would be such an amazing part. Katniss is one of my favourite characters out of any books I’ve read; she’s so strong and independent. She’s an example to people. In a world where everyone gives in and does whatever it takes just to stay alive, she’s the only one who stood up for what’s right.So there you have it - add Miss Ferland to your list of potential Katniss Everdeen’s. With the likes of Oscar nominees Jennifer Lawrence and Hailee Stanfield in the race, she’s an outside chance to be sure. But casting director Debra Zane has said publicly they were auditioning unknowns as well as established actresses, so why wouldn’t they go for the perfect mix – a relatively unknown name, but one that still has the acting chops and years of experience in the industry behind her. Let’s not forget she had a supporting role in Good Luck Chuck, from the same studio developing the Hunger Games, so Ferland is a familiar face to Lions Gate. In a world where all is just and fair, she would be right up there with Stanfield and Emma Roberts in my list of top three Katniss candidates. Stay peeled for my in depth interview with Ferland next week, where we talk Twilight, Twihards, the one and only Joss Whedon and a Bree Tanner spin-off movie.

In other news, here's a fantastic lil' Hunger Games cartoon I found while trawling the internet for fan art. Epic LOLs.