Actor Liam Hemsworth, who stars as Gale in The Hunger Games film trilogy, has confirmed (perhaps unsurprisingly) that the whipping scene in Catching Fire is in the script.

It appears he even took a few real lashings. “My character gets whipped in this one. So I spent a couple of days on my knees getting whipped, which was pretty horrific,” he said while promoting a new clothing line.

Hemsworth also touched on director Francis Lawrence, who will direct the remainder of the films in The Hunger Games franchise (Catching Fire through Mockingjay – Part 2). “There’s a whole lot of great stuff in Catching Fire,” he said. “The characters are developing more; Francis Lawrence had a whole new take on it.”

Recent promotional art for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire teases a sleek look for the film. Katniss and Peeta’s Victory Tour, which will take place at the start of the film, appears to feature a lot of white and silver.

Hemsworth wrapped up his discussion of Suzanne Collins’ book-to-film series by praising the work of Jennifer Lawrence, who was on an awards tear over the past few months thanks to her role in Silver Linings Playbook. “She’s one of the most energetic, fun-loving people I’ve ever met. Working with her on set is just easy because she’s so good and she’s just won all these huge awards so congratulations to her for that. She’s amazing.”

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens in theaters November 22, 2013. Thanks to HungerGamesDWTC.net for the tip.