In 2012, Josh Hutcherson was the dystopian film boyfriend.
The actor, 31, stole hearts around the world as the loveable baker boy, Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games.
Along with his co-stars Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth, the star skyrocketed to superstardom levels of fame thanks to the franchise.
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Hutcherson had already found success early on as a child star thanks to his memorable performance in Bridge to Terabithia.
But after The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 released in 2015, the star all but seemed to vanish from the limelight.
But just as The Hunger Games prequel film, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set to release in cinemas this month, Hutcherson has made his own big return to the screen.
Here’s a look at where the heartthrob is today – including his latest launch back into cinema – his beginnings as a childhood actor, and everything in between.
When did Josh Hutcherson start acting?
Josh Hutcherson was just nine years old when he made his acting debut.
The up-and-coming child star had moved from Kentucky to Los Angeles with his family to pursue a screen career.
In 2002, Hutcherson landed his first television appearance in the pilot episode of the series House Blend, followed by roles in ER and Becoming Glen that same year.
A year later he made his film debut in Miracle Dogs in 2003.
Speaking to Far Out Magazine, Hutcherson recalled his later co-star Jennifer Lawrence telling him on their first meeting on The Hunger Games that he inspired her to act.
“She came over to me and told me this story about how when she was about 10 years old, she had seen in a local newspaper in Kentucky that this young actor had gone out to California… to become an actor, and that was me,” he told the magazine.
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‘It got very dark there’: Child star opens up two decades on
Josh Hutcherson movies
After his early break into the industry, Hutcherson went on to star in The Polar Express in 2004.
But it was the actor’s leading role in the 2007 film Bridge to Terabithia that really cemented him as a star.
The actor starred as Jesse Aarons alongside an all-star cast including AnnaSophia Robb and Zooey Deschanel.
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Hutcherson’s performance in the heartbreaking film earned him a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film in 2008.
Speaking to Gone with the Twins at the time, the young star revealed he had read the book for the film first and “could visualise it come to life on the screen” before reading the script.
The movie would go on to become a classic heart-wrenching film many of us remember from our childhood.
But it was just the beginning for Hutcherson’s rise to fame, going on to play Sean Anderson in Journey to the Center of the Earth and the sequel in 2012.
Rise to fame in The Hunger Games
2012 was a big year for the then 18-year-old. That year he was officially cast as Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ book series.
Hutcherson won an MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance for his performance as Mellark in the first film.
From there, the fanbase grew with every film as Hutcherson, alongside his co-stars became recognised around the world for their roles.
The actor went on to star in three more films for the franchise.
Hutcherson took home the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy in 2012, 2015 and 2016 for his role.
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His chemistry with leading lady Jennifer Lawrence was also off the charts, leading the off-screen besties to take home the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Liplock in 2012 and 2016 as Peeta and Katniss.
The star later reflected to Entertainment Weekly that starring in the dystopian series was “worlds apart from anything” he had experienced.
For Hutcherson, he told the outlet being in such a popular and widely-loved franchise was “like a double-edged sword”.
“Obviously the benefit of having more projects come your way is great,” he said.
“But when I set out to become an actor at eight, being famous and being recognised was not on my radar. I just wanted to make movies.”
“That naiveté followed me until The Hunger Games slapped me in the face,” he said, adding that the franchise made him “realise the kind of actor” he wanted to be.
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Did Josh Hutcherson quit acting?
After The Hunger Games, Josh Hutcherson seemed to be absent from our screen.
Speaking to IndieWire in 2020, the actor opened up about hating the attention that came from acting.
Hutcherson explained that he and Lawrence “hate the business but we love making movies”, adding that he “love[s] the on set experience” of making a film.
While Hutcherson didn’t throw in the towel completely after The Hunger Games, he did take some much more low-key roles in smaller projects.
The actor starred in a short called Ape in 2017 and The Disaster Artist that same year.
He then ventured into the horror genre in 2019 with the thriller, Burn. At the same time he was starring in the series Future Man, which ran for three seasons from 2017 to 2020.
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Hutcherson also starred in the drama Across the River and Into the Trees last year and the series Ultraman up until this year.
Speaking to Yahoo! Entertainment, the actor spoke about the struggle of typecasting after being in such a popular franchise like The Hunger Games.
Hutcherson claimed it ”takes time and years of overcoming” people seeing you as that one beloved character an actor becomes known for.
What’s Josh Hutcherson doing now?
After years of staying away from the limelight, Hutcherson is making his big return.
The actor is making his big screen return just in time for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which will hit cinemas this month.
Hutcherson is the leading man in the latest horror flick, Five Nights at Freddy’s, based on the popular video game.
The actor plays Mike Schmidt in the film alongside Hollywood veteran Matthew Lillard and You star Elizabeth Lail.
The film’s director Emma Tammi recently told NBC Insider that Hutcherson was “so excited about the franchise” and was “engaged on a deeper character level” for the film.
While speaking in a teaser for the movie, Hutcherson recently went viral on social media for showing off his fluent Spanish skills.
Hutcherson also recently starred in the film 57 Seconds which released in September.
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Josh Hutcherson net worth
According to CelebrityNetWorth The Hunger Games star is worth U$20 million as of November 2023.
Is Josh Hutcherson in a relationship?
Hutcherson has been in a long term relationship for almost a decade now.
The actor has been dating Claudia Traisac since 2014.
The couple first met and fell in love after starring in the 2013 film Escobar: Paradise Lost.
The lovebirds have kept their relationship pretty private over the years, but appear to still be going steady.
