Josh Hutcherson Says He ‘Didn’t Learn Rejection’ Until After His ‘Hunger Games’ Success: ‘It Was Just Like a String of No One Calling’

Josh Hutcherson said during a recent appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s “Dinner’s On Me” podcast that he “knew only success” in the early stages of his career, but after starring in “The Hunger Games” franchise, he learned how “complicated” the film industry could be.

“I didn’t learn rejection ever,” Hutcherson said. “I knew only success from the age 9 to, like, 24, then kind of post ‘Hunger Games’ world. Because ‘Hunger Games’ set things up. The industry is so goddamn tricky because they set you up in this way where they’re like, ‘You’ve arrived. You now are working with Jennifer Lawrence and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and you’re in this movie that makes billions of dollars, you’re the second lead of the film.'”

The “I Love LA” star explained that, as “quickly as they’re excited to get you into the spotlight,” the opportunities start to fade. After his ample success as a young actor, Hutcherson said he experienced his first feelings of “disappointment, failure rejection” around age 25.

“It was just like a string of no one calling, not getting any offers, auditioning, but not getting cast,” Hutcherson recalled. “It’s this whole thing of, ‘Oh wow, I have my career that I’ve had since I was 9 years old. It’s always worked. I always got cast.’ Of course, there are things that you don’t get cast in, but I had only known that the chances are, if I was auditioning, was going to book it. That is just not the reality at all.”

Hutcherson starred in 2012’s “The Hunger Games” at 18 years old. The film spawned three sequels, ending in 2015 with “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.” His more recent credits include “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” “The Beekeeper” and the HBO series “I Love LA.”

In a recent interview with Variety, Hutcherson said he would happily return to the “Hunger Games” franchise without a second thought.

“I would love to be back on set with Francis, with Jen, with Liam, with Woody,” he said. “It would not take any convincing at all. I’d be there in a heartbeat.”