Although Jennifer Lawrence actually won her Oscar after The Hunger Games made her the biggest star in the world, she already had an Academy Award on her belt when she first went to Panem. Clearly the aims of Gary Ross and his casting team knew no limits, so it's only to be expected that a few other award-praised actresses were considered to play Katniss. Saoirse Ronan had bagged a Best Supporting Actress nom for Atonement and, although the film itself was a self-involved dud from Peter Jackson, she shone in The Lovely Bones. A role in a major franchise would have done for her career what, well, The Hunger Games did for Lawrence. Ronan wasn't a producer-favourite for the part, but as a major young actress of course her name was linked. Her career since has been more steady (although she did get to do a bit of young adult action in the overlooked Hanna).
