Josh Hutcherson "resented" his fame after The Hunger Games.
The 33-year-old actor became a household name in 2012 when he played Peeta Mellark in the first of the blockbuster movies and while he was thankful he and co-stars Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth could lean on one another as they learned to navigate life in the spotlight, he didn't enjoy the attention.
Speaking to Hunger Games co-star Elizabeth Banks for Variety's Actors on Actors series, he said: "It was crazy. It was such a massive machine, and it was such a formative time of my life.
"We all went through so many changes together. We leaned on each other, hard-core. It was really intimidating.
"I’m from a small town in Kentucky. I started acting when I was a kid because I liked the idea of making movies. Fame was never on my radar — and then I was thrust into that world in such a big way. It was a lot.
"For a long time, I was resentful toward it, because I didn’t want that kind of attention.
"So I was chip-on-my-shoulder angry about it. With years of perspective, I have grown to appreciate it so much."
Josh views his time working on the franchise as his college days.
He said: "I was 19. I didn’t do college, so college for me was shooting those movies and growing up with them. It’s so long ago."
The I Love L.A. actor has been working since he was a child, but he never takes it for granted that there's another job on the way.
He said: "It is interesting, because this industry is wild. It’s so many ups and downs, and there is a feeling of uncertainty between jobs that feels infinite sometimes.
"I am always thinking, 'Well, it was a good run. I’ve been doing it for 24 years and I guess that’s it.' I don’t have a job lined up; I don’t know what’s going to happen.
"And so it can be very stressful, but then you get on set again and you’re like, 'Oh, OK, I’m home.' It feels right."
