10 Actors Who Received Super Specific Training For Movie Roles
5. Jennifer Lawrence Learned How To Skin Squirrels - Winter's Bone
Jennifer Lawrence came to prominence with her Oscar-nominated performance in 2010's superb mystery-drama Winter's Bone.
Lawrence plays Ree Dolly, a 17-year-old girl who treks through the desolate Ozark mountains in search of her missing father, while having to provide for the rest of the family in his absence.
In one scene Ree is shown demonstrating to her younger brother how to skin a squirrel, and indeed, Lawrence received pre-shoot training from one of her brother's friends in order to convincingly do the deed like a pro.
Lawrence ended up courting controversy for the act in 2012, however, when while on the press tour for The Hunger Games she said, "I should say [the squirrel] wasn't real, for PETA. But screw PETA."
PETA responded by criticising the then-21-year-old Lawrence for making light of an animal's demise, adding, "She's young and the plight of animals somehow hasn't yet touched her heart... I hope she will try to make up for any pain she might cause any animal who did nothing but try to eke out a humble existence in nature."