Willow Shields is just like you. We spoke with the actress yesterday and can prove it.
Hypable hopped on the phone with the actress who plays Katniss’ younger sister Primrose Everdeen in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Thursday afternoon to talk about the just-released film as well as her love for YA literature.
13-year-old Shields told us Catching Fire is her favorite book in Suzanne Collins’ dystopian trilogy. Her first audition for the role of Prim came just as she was in the middle of reading the first book. By the time she received a callback audition, she had finished the series.
The Hunger Games isn’t the only YA book she admires. Shields says that she’s a huge fan of John Green and is currently going through all of his work. “My favorite is Looking For Alaska,” but “right now I’m actually in the middle of Paper Towns and I think that one is going to end up being my favorite.” As for The Fault in Our Stars? “So good,” she told us.
Collins was in love with Shields’ portrayal of the almost-tribute so much that she thought there was no contest. “The first time we met, she said to me, ‘I could never see anyone else playing Prim. You were incredible. You were perfect.'” For that reason, Collins never gave her tips on how to play Prim. “She already thought that I was connecting with the character on a level – she wasn’t worried.”
Related: Read our interview with Beetee actor Jeffrey Wright.
Box office estimates indicate the film is going to perform a lot better than Gary Ross’ original Games, and Shields credits the great word of mouth over the past two years. “I do feel like we’ve picked up some more fans on the way. When we came out with the first movie, people came to see it because they read the book, and there were a lot of people who wanted to see it because it looked really good.” Now, “they see what it was really about.”
We also had to ask about the change up in the cat who plays Prim’s Buttercup. In the first film she was black, and now the cat is the book-loyal orange color. “I do love having Buttercup being how I imagined her in the books,” she admitted.
The 13-year-old actress has plans to see the movie with her friends, complete with a trip to the ice cream shop, tonight in her hometown theater. Despite the plans, Shields has a hard time enjoying an experience like this one when all of the attention is on her. “I never really celebrate because I’m the type of person who’s like, ‘I don’t like being in the spotlight like this!’ It takes a lot for me to go with all my friends because I get embarrassed if I know everyone is there for me.”
As for the future of her career, Shields says she wants to keep acting. When we asked if she’d prefer to do book adaptations or originals, she said she is split. “It’s kind of nice being an actor and having material in the book before filming, because you see the material and it helps you connect with the character. So I appreciate when you’re a part of a movie based off of a book, but I also have a lot of fun on movies that are interesting but written in a different way. I don’t prefer one way or the other.”
Catching Fire is now in theaters.