Actor is reportedly in talks to join the adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s books.
John C Reilly is in talks to join ‘The Hunger Games’ in the role of Haymitch Abernathy, the only living Hunger Games victor, and now alcoholic mentor to District 12 tributes Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson).
The movie, based on the bestselling young-adult novel series by Suzanne Collins, is set in post-apocalyptic America and centers on Katniss Everdeen, who must participate in a fight-to-the-death annual event called the Hunger Games. The battles are televised, and pit youths from each of the Capitol’s 12 Districts against each other.
Oscar-nominated Reilly was previously in talks to join Disney’s ‘Oz, the Great and the Powerful’ as the sidekick to James Franco’s Wizard character, but it appears that those talks stalled due to the actor being offered a role in ‘The Hunger Games.’
The cast of the forthcoming adaptation includes Liam Hemsworth (‘The Last Song’) as Gale Hawthorne, Willow Shields as Primrose Everdeen; Paula Malcomson (‘Sons of Anarchy,’ ‘Deadwood’) as Mrs. Everdeen, the mother of Katniss and Primrose; and Elizabeth Banks (‘Our Idiot Brother,’ ‘The Next Three Days’) in role of bubbly bureaucrat Effie Trinket.
Recent additions to the cast include Leven Rambin (‘Grey’s Anatomy’) and Jack Quaid (son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan) as District 1 tributes Glimmer and Marvel, and newcomers Dayo Okeniyi and Amanda Stenberg as District 11 tributes Thresh and Rue.