Sam Claflin Reflects on His ‘Hunger Games’ Arc 10 Years Later: ‘Finnick Deserved Better’
Katcy Stephan It’s been 10 years since a shirtless Sam Claflin first stole hearts as the charismatic District 4 victor Finnick Odair in 2013’s “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” In a conversation with Variety about his upcoming Prime Video series, “Daisy Jones & the Six,” Claflin reflected on the films at length. “It still feels like yesterday…the filming experience of that was just an absolute dream,” he said, beaming as he recalled filming in Hawaii alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. It wasn’t all easy, though. The actor faced backlash at the time of his casting: “‘You were so wrong for this.’ ‘They should have cast this person or this person, not you,’” Claflin remembers hearing when he was selected for the beloved role. His attitude? “Okay, I’m gonna prove you wrong!”