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The Hunger Games franchise is an epic dystopian tale centered around the defiance of a teenage girl named Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and the subsequent uprising against President Snow and his autocratic rule. The movies are centered around a fight-to-the-death spectacle where children are thrown into an arena to remind people across the 12 districts of Panem who is in control.
Across five movies, the franchise explored the sweeping saga of how found families and communities came together to resist President Snow, through Katniss' eyes. So the cast is stacked with actors who are already well-established or those who have gone on to become big in the industry. It's safe to say fans might not remember most of them, given the pace and intensity of the series.
So, here are 7 actors who appeared in The Hunger Games franchise that fans might have forgotten.
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Mahershala Ali, Elden Henson, and other stars from The Hunger Games franchise that fans might have forgotten
1) Mahershala Ali as Boggs
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 and Part 2 followed a tense premise. District 12 had been destroyed, Peeta was in the Capitol's hands, and District 13's leader, Alma Coin, wanted Katniss to be the face of the rebellion. So it's safe to assume that fans might have forgotten that a very familiar face appears as Boggs, the Head of Security at District 13 and Katniss' eventual protector.
The two-time Academy Award-winning Mahershala Ali (Green Book, Moonlight) is one of the most famous actors to join the supporting cast. He also has a lot of other movies and shows to his name, like House of Cards (2013-2018), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), and the upcoming Jurassic World Rebirth.
Ali played a minor but important role in the rebellion as one of the more level-headed commanders. His calm yet powerful screen presence added gravitas to the two-part finale.
2) Natalie Dormer as Cressida
Dormer also appears in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 and Part 2 as a rebel from the Capitol who works with Plutarch to follow Katniss around with a camera. Katniss underestimates her in the beginning as just a camera person, but she showcases her true survival skills, even making it into the heart of the Capitol with Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, and helping them find a safe place to hide.
Fans will recognize her for her most famous role as the ambitious Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones, the House Tyrell heir who went up against Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). She is also a force to reckon with in period pieces like The Tudors (2010-2014) and W.E. (2011), while also appearing in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) as Private Lorraine and Elementary as Irene Adler.
3) Jack Quaid as Marvel
Quaid portrayed the mean and ruthless Marvel as one of the more prominent tributes to enter the arena from District 1 in the first edition of The Hunger Games. He was a minor character but managed to be a thorn in Katniss's side and kill her only ally, the seven-year-old Rue, before she took him down with an arrow.
The actor went on to land more prominent roles after the movie, and most fans know him as the protagonist with a moral compass, Hughie Campbell, in The Boys (2019-present). The son of Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally) and Dennis Quaid (Parent Trap), he also snagged other roles, like Richard Feynman in Oppenheimer and the voice of Brad Boimler in Star Trek: Lower Decks.
4) Elden Henson as Pollux
Pollux appears as Cressida's assistant in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1 and Part 2. He is an avox, which implies a person whose speech has been cut off for rebelling against the Capitol. While his role is minor, fans learn more about his life when he shows Katniss and the group a way to move through the Capitol through the underground tunnels, where he used to be a trapped worker.
Elden Henson made an impact in the role, even without any dialogue, by showcasing Pollux's tenacity and will to survive. Fans might recognize him as the affable Franklin "Foggy" Nelson from the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Daredevil (2015-18), its crossover mini-series, The Defenders (2017), and its reboot, Daredevil: Born Again, in 2025.
5) Jeffrey Wright as Beetee Latier
Beetee is a victor who re-enters the arena in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and is one of the main orchestrators of the rebellion. He uses the lightning tree to break the arena and save the remaining victors. Beetee joins the rebel cause in Mockingjay, helping Katniss with her new bulletproof outfit, designing bombs, and interrupting Capitol TV frequencies to push Katniss's 'propos.'
Jeffrey Wright is one of those actors who is in every critically acclaimed movie or show revolving around moral ambiguity, dystopia, or science fiction. He plays the villainous Valentine Narcisse in the historical fiction Boardwalk Empire (2013-2014). He is the conflicted robot programmer Robert Lowe in Westworld (2016-2022). He allies with Batman as Jim Gordon in The Batman (2022).
He is an almost EGOT, with an Emmy, a Tony, and a Golden Globe. He also has an Academy Award nomination for American Fiction (2023).
6) Toby Jones as Claudius Templesmith
As the head announcer of the Hunger Games, Jones appears throughout the first two parts of the franchise alongside the host of the games, Caesar Flickerman. It might have been the over-the-top hair or the exaggerated makeup, courtesy of Capitol's fashion, which made many fans not recognize or remember Jones' role.
Jones is most notably known for his Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) character, Dr. Arnim Zola, in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and its sequel, The Winter Soldier (2014). He also plays Sir Percy "Tinker" Alleline in the Cold War spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011).
7) Gwendoline Christie as Commander Lyme
Christie plays the commander of District 2 in the rebellion against the Capitol. She is also described as a victor of a previous edition of the Hunger Games. While she has a blink-and-you-will-miss-it role in the franchise and the rebellion, she is important, especially because she leads a district that is allied with the Capitol.
There is no dearth of Gwendoline Christie's roles across film and television. Fans might recognize her as the indomitable Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones (2011-2019) or Captain Phasma in the Star Wars franchise. Her more recent roles include Lorne in Apple TV's Severance (2022-present) and Principal Larissa Weems in Wednesday (2022-present).
Watch The Hunger Games and its sequels on Prime Video.
