Surprise performance in 'Hunger Games'

Surprise performance in 'Hunger Games'

Surprise performance in 'Hunger Games', ‘The Hunger Games’ Exclusive Clip Gives First Look at Lenny Kravitz’s Role, Rocker Lenny Kravitz may seem like an unlikely casting choice until you watch him in a new clip. Watch Jennifer Lawrence and Lenny Kravitz in an exclusive clip from "The Hunger Games," then read on to learn how the rock star nabbed a role in the highly anticipated big-screen adaptation.

The cast of "The Hunger Games" includes three Academy Award nominated actors. But only one star in the cast won Grammys for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" four years in a row. In a surprise casting choice, Lenny Kravitz was chosen to play the role of Cinna, the gold eyeshadow-sporting stylist who creates the look for Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) before she fights for her life in the games.

"The Hunger Games" is only Kravitz's second feature film role (if you don't count being the voice of a baby in "The Rugrats Movie" or appearing as himself in "Zoolander"). Kravitz grew up around the acting profession: his mother, Roxie Roker, starred on "The Jeffersons," and he attended Beverly Hills High School with Nicolas Cage as a classmate. Still, he did not make his acting debut until 2009's "Precious" where he played John McFadden, the compassionate nursing assistant who helps the title character. Kravitz was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role.

"Precious," though, was an independent film where many of the lead actors had little to no previous acting experience. "The Hunger Games," is a high-profile, big-budget spectacle filled with acting veterans like Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci, and Woody Harrelson. So how did Kravitz score the role?

Director Gary Ross said he was "knocked out" by Kravitz's performance in "Precious," saying it was "quiet and strong and understated and open hearted; all qualities which define [Cinna]." But there was a personal connection as well. Kravitz told CNN that he originally met Jennifer Lawrence when she was filming "X-Men: First Class" alongside his daughter, Zoe Kravitz. Lawrence and the other young "X-Men" stars would stay at Kravitz's house in Paris during breaks in filming, and the rapport the two developed helped secure him the role.

via: yahoo