Actor known for his "Hunger Games" series: Who is Josh Hutcherson?

His real name is Joshua Ryan Hutcherson, he was born on October 12, 1992 in Union, Kentucky. He was born the son of his mother, Michelle Fightmaster, a former airline employee, and his father, Chris Hutcherson, an environmental protection agency analyst. He has a younger brother named Connor.

Hutcherson's interest in acting developed at an early age. Hutcherson, who studied the yellow pages at the age of eight, contacted an acting agency. In January 2002, he met acting coach Bob Luke, who was traveling with his mother from New York to Kentucky. At that time, his only acting experience was in a TV commercial for a "Kroger" company and in the "Holiday Bible School" educational film. Hutcherson lived with his mother for three years in the Oakwood apartments of Los Angeles, a residential community of young child actors and their families.

Much of Hutcherson's childhood was spent on movie sets. Hutcherson attended New Haven Elementary School until the age of nine and continued his education at home with his mother being a teacher. He then returned to Kentucky to attend Ryle High and played on the high school football team. Hutcherson said that he has been a sports fan since then, in addition to football and tennis. He participated in a triathlon race at the age of 13.

After moving to Hollywood in 2002, Hutcherson has appeared in many television commercials. He made his major acting debut as Nicky Harper in the pilot episode of "House Blend" (2002). He then appeared in minor roles in an episode of the medical drama TV series "ER" and in the pilot episode of the period sitcom "Becoming Glen". He played the role of Charlie Logan in the TV movie "Miracle Dogs", which aired on Animal Planet the following year. Later that year, he appeared in the television movie "Wilder Days" with Peter Falk and Tim Daly as Falk's grandson who accompanied him on a turbulent journey.

Hutcherson's next role was in the role of a boy dressed as Robin in the critically acclaimed independent biographical comedy-drama "American Splendor" (2003), which won the grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The generally acclaimed film was also successful at the box office. In 2004, the young Hero Boy character in the fantasy adventure Christmas movie "The Polar Express" based on the children's book of the same name was created by motion capture of facial expressions and body movements. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was successful at the box office. In the same year, he voiced the character of Markl while appearing in the animated fantasy movie "Howl's Moving Castle" with Christian Bale and Billy Crystal.

In 2005, Hutcherson reprized his role as Bucky Weston in the sports comedy movie "Kicking & Screaming" directed by Jesse Dylan. That same year, he co-starred with her younger brother Connor in the romantic comedy-drama film "Little Manhattan" directed by Mark Levin. The film, which received mostly positive reviews from its critics, was a moderate commercial success at the box office. Later, he starred in the science fiction adventure movie "Zathura: A Space Adventure" directed by Jon Favreau. He won the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Leading Young Actor. 

Hutcherson's next appearance was playing the son of Robin Williams' character Bob Munro in the early 2006 comedy "RV." The film was not well received by the critics and was a healthy success at the box office. He earned his second Young Artist Award nomination for his performance.

Hutcherson's career breakthrough came with AnnaSophia Robb, Robert Patrick and Zooey Deschanel, as Jesse Aarons in the fantasy drama movie "Bridge to Terabithia" (2007), directed by Gábor Csupó. The film, which received positive reviews from critics, also achieved great success at the box office. He won Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Young Actor in a Leading Role". That same year, he came up with the family movie "Firehouse Dog" (2007), directed by Todd Holland, in which he played Shane Fahey, the firefighter's son who befriends a dog. Hutcherson said he was pleased to work with and bond with the four different dogs that played his co-star. The film received mixed reviews, even though his performance received positive reviews from critics.

In 2008, he appeared in the independent crime psychological drama film "Winged Creatures", playing alongside Dakota Fanning, two young friends who survived a massacre. That same year, he starred in the science fiction action-adventure film "Journey to the Center of the Earth", a 3D film adaptation of the novel of the same name, as a teenager who travels to Iceland with an uncle he hardly knows. While it received generally positive reviews, it achieved great success with its worldwide revenue.

Over the next two years, he appeared in the fantasy movie "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant", a vampire fiction film adaptation of his book of the same name, as a boy named Steve "Leopard" Leonard, who was visiting a freak show with his friends. The film was not appreciated both commercially and critically. The following year, he had a supporting role, starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, in the critically acclaimed comedy-drama film "The Kids Are All Right," directed by Lisa Cholodenko.

On April 4, 2011, Lionsgate announced that 18-year-old Hutcherson would be portraying the role of Peeta Mellark opposite Jennifer Lawrence in the "The Hunger Games" series. Hutcherson, who had to bleach his hair and gain 15 pounds to prepare for the role, was very eager to play the role. "The Hunger Games", the first film of the series, was released on March 23, 2012 and became one of the highest-grossing films of the year. He won the MTV Movie Award for "Best Actor" for his performance. He also won the 2012 NewNowNext award for "Next Mega Star" and the National Association of Theater Owners 2012 CinemaCon award for "Breakthrough Actress of the Year".

Between starring in The Hunger Games and the movie's release, he starred as Clapton Davis in the black comedy film "Detention" (2011) directed by Joseph Kahn. He also co-starred in the drama film "The Forger" (2012), directed by Lawrence Roeck. The film was not well received, and the chemistry and performances of the actors were praised. He later reprized the role of Sean Anderson in its sequel, sci-fi action adventure movie "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island." Despite mixed reviews, the film was a successful commercial worldwide.

He then starred in the action war movie "Red Dawn", a remake of the movie of the same name, with Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The film was negatively received by critics and received the lowest rating of all Hutcherson's films.

The following year, he voiced the character of Nod in "Epic," the animated fantasy action-adventure 3D movie loosely based on William Joyce's book. The film received critical acclaim and grossed it at the box office, making it the most commercially successful film outside the Hunger Games franchise. During the filming of the sequel "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"(2013), he trained for five hours a week by renowned trainer Bobby Strom. The film was Hutcherson's most commercially successful film, grossing $420 million at the box office. He won his second MTV Movie Award for "Best Actor" for his performance.

Hutcherson reprized his role in the dystopian sci-fi war sequels "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" and "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2". The first received generally positive reviews when it was released on November 21, 2014. It became the fifth highest-grossing film of 2014. It also broke the record for the biggest opening day and opening weekend that year. The second was released on November 20, 2015 and received critical acclaim. It was the ninth highest-grossing film of 2015 by commercial earnings, making it the lowest-grossing film in the series.

Hutcherson co-starred with Benicio del Toro in the Franco-Spanish romantic thriller "Escobar: Paradise Lost," written and directed by Andrea Di Stefano and released in the US on January 16, 2015. He also served as executive producer along with the director on the film. The following year, he appeared in the drama film "In Dubious Battle", directed and starring by James Franco, with Nat Wolff, Vincent D'Onofrio, Robert Duvall, Selena Gomez and Keegan Allen.

Hutcherson starred in the science fiction comedy TV series "Future Man" in November 2017. The series, which premiered on Hulu, also starred alongside Eliza Coupe, Derek Wilson, Ed Begley Jr., Glenne Headly, Seth Rogen, and Haley Joel Osment. That year, he starred in "The Disaster Artist," a biographical comedy-drama film based on the book of the same name directed by James Franco, with James Franco, Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Jacki Weaver, and Seth Rogen. The critically acclaimed film was chosen as one of the ten best films of 2017.

The following year, he voiced herself as a pony in "Elliot the Littlest Reindeer," an animated Christmas movie written and directed by Jennifer Wescott. He then starred in the black comedy thriller "Burn" written and directed by Mike Gan.

In 2022, he appeared in the movie "Across the River and into the Trees", based on the novel of the same name and directed by Paula Ortiz. In December 2022, Hutcherson played the role of Mike Schmidt in the supernatural horror movie "Five Nights at Freddy's", based on the video game series of the same name. The movie is scheduled to be released on October 27, 2023.

Personal life

Hutcherson has been with actress Claudia Traisac since 2013. He was also a staunch advocate of the LGBTQ+ community and featured on "Straight But Not Narrow", a gay-straight alliance campaign. With this participation, he won many awards such as the Young Humanitarian Award at the united4:humanity awards in 2015. He also appeared in the music video for DJ Snake's hit song "Middle".

Hutcherson, who enjoys cars, triathlon competitions, bowling, football and playing the guitar, currently lives in Los Angeles, California.