Make Page Six a Preferred Source Disney actor David Henrie has claimed that losing out on a key role in “The Hunger Games” was the “best thing in the world” because it helped him to find a real connection to God.
In a recent appearance on the Lila Rose Show podcast, the “Wizards of Waverly Place” star opened up about how losing out on the part of Gale Hawthorne to Australian actor Liam Hemsworth helped him to embrace religion and ultimately meet his wife.
“It was down to me and Liam Hemsworth for the role in ‘The Hunger Games,’” the 37-year-old recalled. “I had a great audition and we negotiated the contracts. A three-picture deal, millions of dollars. I really wanted the role. But Liam got it.”
Henrie said he had been feeling confident about getting the part because he had known the film’s lead actress Jennifer Lawrence “for a while.”
“I did know she was going to be Katniss. I didn’t know she was going to be in the room for the chemistry read. But I walk in, I see her, and you know, we we have great chemistry. I’ve known her. And the audition went great. It was a phenomenal audition.”
However, the “Grown Ups 2” actor realized he had competition when he saw “hulking looking” Hemsworth walk in for an audition.
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Hemsworth and Lawrence starred alongside Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark in the 2012 movie, which grossed over $2.9 billion at the box office worldwide.
Henrie noted that “The Last Song” star Hemsworth was ultimately a “great casting choice” and explained how losing out on the part meant he was available to take on a part in the 2015 war drama, “Little Boy.”
While working on the film, the “How I Met Your Mother” star was invited to “philosophy nights,” which interested him because he had been studying Buddhism and “comparative mythology” at the time.
“It’s a bunch of good guys and it just started with, ‘Let’s just talk, a leaf falls from a tree, what do we know about that?” he recalled. “And so we started going back and back and back to the tree, to the ground, to the soil, to the earth. Like, there had to be a start to create everything.”
Despite initially not wanting anything to do with God, he started to question how the universe was created and found himself weighing different religions before he ended up being drawn to Catholicism.
“It all clicked and I radically changed the way I live” he explained, noting that he went on to become more selective with his acting roles.
He also became more choosy about his romantic life, explaining that he made the decision to cease any and all casual dating in favor of pursuing only serious relationships with a person who he believed could become his wife.
Based on the best-selling book series by Suzanne Collins, “The Hunger Games” series was adapted into four films and remains the 21st-highest-grossing film franchise of all time, earning a whopping $3.3 billion worldwide.
“Die My Love” star Lawrence recently confirmed her “emotional” return to the franchise in the upcoming instalment, “Sunrise on the Reaping.”
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