11 'Hunger Games' stars, ranked from least to most successful

Jacqueline Emerson played Foxface, one of the tributes from District 5.

Foxface had a larger role in the novel than in the film, but Emerson still made an impression with her character's death by accidental poisoning at the end.

After "Hunger Games," Emerson appeared in a dystopian film of her own, "The Last Survivors," in 2014. The film garnered positive reviews, but it didn't make much of a financial or cultural impact.

Since then, she's been in a few short films that she also produced and directed, a few episodes of "Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye" on YouTube in 2020, and an episode of "FBI" in 2021. She also has a music career, with a few singles under her belt, per YouTube.

Emerson, 30, currently has 52,400 followers on Instagram.

Willow Shields played Katniss' sister, Prim, in all four films.

Prim, short for Primrose, is actually the catalyst for the whole series — she gets chosen for the games, prompting older sister Katniss to volunteer in her place. Prim grows from a shy, sweet pre-teen to a confident teenager training to be a war medic.

Unfortunately, she meets a tragic end in "Mockingjay Part 2."

The same year the franchise ended, she appeared on "Dancing With the Stars." She was partnered with Mark Ballas and made it to week seven. At 14, she was the youngest person to compete.

After that, Shields hasn't been in much. She starred in the only (to date) season of "The Unsettling" and the Netflix series "Spinning Out," which was canceled after one season.

Shields, 24, has 872,000 followers on Instagram and 210,400 followers on X.

Leven Rambin played District 1 tribute Glimmer, who meets a gruesome end.

Glimmer was known as a "Career," a tribute from a district that essentially trains their kids from birth to be in the games. She's eventually indirectly killed by Katniss, who sets a hive of genetically altered wasps (known as tracker jackers) on her.

Before "Hunger Games," Rambin was known in some circles for her role on "All My Children" from 2004 to 2010, her recurring role on "Grey's Anatomy" as Mark Sloan's adult daughter, and for a small role in three episodes of "One Tree Hill."

After the film, she was cast in "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters," which ended up being the last in the would-be saga (there were only two films made). She then went on to appear in "Two Night Stand" and the Oscar-winning film "Mank." In 2021, she appeared in the fifth and final "Purge" movie, "The Forever Purge."

On the TV front, she appeared in "The Tomorrow People," "True Detective," "The Path," "Gone," and most recently, the CBS series "Fire Country."

In 2024, she published her memoir "Glimmer's Game," which is described as an "intimate look at her rise from the dreams of a young girl in Houston to the bright lights of Hollywood and 'The Hunger Games.'"

Rambin, 34, has 148,000 followers on Instagram and 19,500 followers on X.

Dayo Okeniyi played District 11 tribute Thresh, who goes out a hero.

Thresh was the co-tribute of District 11 with Rue, who saved Katniss because of her friendship with Rue. He was eventually taken out by genetically modified dogs called mutts.

After the first film, Okeniyi appeared in a few romance films like "The Spectacular Now" and "Endless Love." He also popped up in another giant dystopian franchise in the 2015 film "Terminator Genisys," and had a small role in the 2022 horror film "Fresh."

He's made the rounds on TV, starring in NBC police procedural "Shades of Blue" from 2016 to 2018, an episode of Apple TV+'s "See" in 2019, and in a voice role in the Demi Moore podcast "Dirty Diana."

In 2024, he began starring in another Apple TV+ series, "Dark Matter," which was renewed for a season two.

Okeniyi, 36, deleted his Instagram, though he does have 51,000 followers on X. While Okeniyi isn't a household name yet, we expect big things from him soon.

Isabelle Fuhrman played Clove, the tribute from District 2.

Clove was also a Career, but she was taken out by Thresh in retaliation for the death of Rue, among other things. She was cruel and taunted Katniss about her friend's death.

Fuhrman was one of the more well-known members of the cast — she had played the iconic role of Esther in the 2009 horror film "Orphan."

Post-"Hunger Games," she's made a name for herself as a scream queen. She's been in "Don't Let Me Go," "Cell," and "Down a Dark Hall." She also had a recurring role in "Masters of Sex."

As the years have gone by, she's continued her horror career. She's appeared in "Escape Room: Tournament of Champions," "The Last Thing Mary Saw," and — most importantly — she reprised her role as Esther in "Orphan: First Kill."

This year, she appeared in Julia Stiles' directorial debut "Wish You Were Here," and (hopefully) will reprise her role as Diamond Kittredge in Kevin Costner's Western epic film series "Horizon."

Fuhrman, 28, has 683,000 followers on Instagram and 163,700 followers on X.

Alexander Ludwig played Cato, the film's biggest villain and tribute from District 3.

Cato was the only other tribute to volunteer. He made it all the way to the final three, attempting to take Katniss and Peeta out before getting devoured by the mutts — Katniss shot him with an arrow to spare him.

Ludwig was semi-known for his role in "Race to Witch Mountain" in 2009, but "Hunger Games" was one of his first big roles.

Since then, he's appeared in many films: comedies like "Grown Ups 2," "The Final Girls," "Bad Boys for Life," and its 2024 sequel, "Bad Boys: Ride or Die"; action films like "Lone Survivor," "Midway," and "Guy Ritchie's The Covenant"; and even in the Netflix holiday rom-com "Operation Christmas Drop" in 2020.

Ludwig was also very busy with the History Channel series "Vikings," in which he starred from 2014 to 2020, the wrestling series "Heels" alongside Stephen Amell from 2021 to 2023, and the MGM+ series "Earth Abides," which premiered in 2024.

He's doing all that, plus he released a country EP in 2022.

Ludwig, 32, has 3.3 million followers on Instagram, and 433,000 followers on X.

Liam Hemsworth was the third prong in the love triangle as Katniss' best friend and would-be revolutionary Gale.

While Katniss was in the games, he became involved in the resistance movement — and while that connected him to Katniss, it led to some disastrous consequences in the final film, leading her to choose Peeta.

Before the film, Hemsworth had already been a romantic lead due to his role in 2010's Nicholas Sparks drama "The Last Song," and he was a tabloid mainstay due to his relationship with costar Miley Cyrus.

The same year "Hunger Games" was released, Hemsworth appeared in another action franchise: "The Expendables 2." While he wasn't brought back for the sequel, he got another chance at a franchise with "Independence Day: Resurgence," which didn't make much of a splash.

He's also appeared in some flops, like "Love and Honor," "Killerman," and "Arkansas" — he found more success on streaming. He starred on Quibi series "Most Dangerous Game" and was nominated for an Emmy.

Things are going to pick up for him soon, though. After starring in the 2024 Netflix rom-com "Lonely Planet" with Laura Dern, he'll next be seen taking over for Henry Cavill in season four of "The Witcher."

Hemsworth's fame, though, can probably be mostly attributed to his famous family (he's the brother of Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, and "Westworld" star Luke) and his relationship with ex-wife Cyrus.

Hemsworth, 35, has 12.1 million followers on Instagram and 1.5 million followers on X.

Josh Hutcherson played Peeta Mellark, one of Katniss' love interests and co-District 12 tribute, in all four films. Despite not knowing Katniss very well, reveals he has feelings for her, which spirals into a storyline for the pair.

Their "love" story, which is played up for the games, results in them surviving the games in the first film. The two grow closer and, even through torture, memory loss, and a second games, end up together in "Mockingjay Part 2."

Hutcherson was a well-known child star before getting cast in "The Hunger Games." To name a few, he was in "Kicking and Screaming," "Little Manhattan," "Zathura," "Bridge to Terabithia," and "The Kids Are All Right."

He also had a mini-franchise under his belt, with "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island."

While he was a co-lead of the franchise, its success took years to translate to success for Hutcherson's box-office career post-"Hunger Games."

He's been in more than a few flops, like "The Forger," "Red Dawn," "Escobar: Paradise Lost," "Elliot the Littlest Reindeer," and "Burn." He's also been in a few solid films, like "Epic," "The Disaster Artist," and "Tragedy Girls."

For a few years, he found more success in streaming. He starred in and executive produced all three seasons of Hulu's "Future Man," and he voiced Ultraman in the English dub of the anime series "Ultraman" from 2019 to 2023.

But recently, things have been turning around for Hutcherson. Besides the iconic "Whistle" meme that took over TikTok, he's now the star of the "Five Nights at Freddy's" franchise. The first installment was a surprise box-office hit in 2023, grossing almost $300 million. A sequel is set for this year.

He also had a solid role in the Jason Statham action film "The Beekeeper" in 2024, which was also successful.

Hutcherson, 32, has 2 million followers on Instagram and 2.1 million followers on X.

Amandla Stenberg played Rue, the female tribute from District 11 and one of Katniss' closest friends in the games.

Rue was just a kid when she was chosen for the games, and as such, she followed Katniss and Peeta around during training — she then saved Katniss from the Careers and showed her the tracker jackers that saved her life.

In the saddest moment in the film, Rue is killed by Marvel in front of Katniss. She asks Katniss to sing for her, and when she dies, Katniss raises the three-finger salute that becomes synonymous with rebellion.

Stenberg was one of the breakout stars of the film and she used the momentum to secure starring roles, which is why she's so high on this list.

After a voice role in "Rio 2," Stenberg starred in a 2017 adaptation of the YA novel "Everything, Everything," which, despite lukewarm reviews, was a box-office hit.

She then played the lead in "The Darkest Minds," another dystopian YA film. By 2018, she had secured yet another leading role in "The Hate U Give," for which she was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award and won an NAACP Image Award.

That year, she also starred in "Where Hands Touch," a controversial film about a love story between two teens in Nazi Germany, though her performance specifically was praised by outlets like Variety.

Since then, she's also had starring roles in "Bodies Bodies Bodies," "Dear Evan Hansen," and "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." In 2024, she joined the "Star Wars" franchise when she starred in the Disney+ series "The Acolyte."

Up next, she'll star in the highly anticipated film adaptation of the fantasy novel "Children of Blood and Bone."

In addition to her acting career, she's also a well-known figure among Gen Z as an activist.

Stenberg, 26, has 2.2 million followers on Instagram.

Jack Quaid had a small part as Marvel, a tribute from District 1. He was a Career tribute, and he made it far into the games before making a mistake: killing Rue. Katniss killed Marvel in revenge.

"The Hunger Games" was Quaid's — the son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan — film debut. Afterward, it took a few years for Quaid to find his footing, including a part in the short-lived HBO series "Vinyl."

But since then, he's appeared in critically successful films like "Logan Lucky," "Tragedy Girls," and "Plus One," and some box-office successes like "Rampage," "Smallfoot," "Scream," and the 2024 best picture winner "Oppenheimer."

In the first three months of 2025 alone, he also top-lined the black comedy/horror film "Companion" and the action film "Novocaine."

But the reason for his high placement has to do with his TV career. Most famously, he plays Hughie on the Prime Video superhero series "The Boys," which is set to conclude its five-season run later this year.

He also wrapped up his role in the animated Paramount+ series "Star Trek: Lower Decks" as Boimler (for which he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award). But you don't have to go without a charming Quaid voiceover performance — he also voices Superman on the Adult Swim animated series "My Adventures with Superman."

Quaid, 32, has 1.9 million followers on Instagram and 396,700 followers on X.

Of course, the top spot goes to the Girl on Fire herself, Jennifer Lawrence, who played Katniss.

Katniss is the protagonist of the entire saga — in the novels, we're in her head the whole time, and the film focuses on her journey from archery enthusiast to reluctant symbol to soldier to a parent with a quiet life.

Lawrence's break-out role was in 2010's "Winter's Bone," for which she received an Oscar nomination. In 2011, the year before "The Hunger Games," she made her debut in another franchise, "X-Men," as a younger version of Mystique. She played that role through 2019's "Dark Phoenix."

To go through Lawrence's filmography would be a lot, but we can go through some of her accolades. She's since been nominated for three more Oscars, winning in 2013 for "Silver Linings Playbook." She has one BAFTA win from two nominations, three Golden Globes from six nominations, four Critics' Choice Awards from 13 nominations, two SAG Awards from five nominations, and seven MTV Movie Awards from 22 nominations.

Lawrence, 34, is one of the last few A-listers who have not deigned to join social media (much like other franchise stars like Daniel Radcliffe, Robert Pattinson, and Kristen Stewart).

In recent years, she took a bit of a break, but returned to the spotlight with films like "No Hard Feelings," "Don't Look Up," and "Causeway." Her next project is the drama "Die, My Love," which also stars Pattinson and LaKeith Stanfield.