11 Movie Casting Choices The Public Couldn't Handle
8. Jennifer Lawrence - Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)
The Hunger Games' lead role of Katniss Everdeen was intensely sought out in Hollywood, with reportedly 30 name actresses reading for the part including Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Emma Roberts, Saoirse Ronan, Chloë Grace Moretz, Emily Browning, Shailene Woodley, and Kaya Scodelario.
But it was of course Jennifer Lawrence who won the role, with her casting announced just weeks after she received her first Best Actress Oscar nomination for Winter's Bone, and mere months before she became a veritable A-lister by playing Mystique in X-Men: First Class.
Despite Lawrence's clear talent, fans of Suzanne Collins' YA novel series felt that the actress simply didn't fit Katniss' physical characteristics.
In addition to being four years older than her paperback equivalent, Lawrence lacked the straight black hair, olive skin, and "tomboyish" look described in the book, and many felt she was simply too curvaceous to convincingly resemble an underfed warrior struggling to stay alive.
In the end, Lawrence dyed her hair darker, and fans' reservations largely melted away once the movie was released.
While Katniss didn't net Lawrence any major awards, it remains her career-defining performance, and is absolutely one of the strongest blockbuster turns of the last decade.