Isabelle Fuhrman on Playing Clove in The Hunger Games, Dressing for the Red Carpet, and Pulling Pranks on Set
Isabelle Fuhrman is no stranger to playing dark, twisted characters: she landed her big break starring in ritualistically every week. Read on to learn more about the young actress.
1/7The star and District 2 Tribute dishes on her friendship with designer Christian Siriano and why she's Team Katniss.
Photo: PR Photos2/7What was it like to audition for The Hunger Games?
I actually auditioned originally for Katniss. I was fourteen when I auditioned, and I was too young. I was really upset because I thought I wasn't going to be in it, and I got a call two weeks later that they wanted me to audition for Clove. I learned two weeks after that that they wanted me for the part. I was so happy that I cried.
How do you feel about playing the villain?
I think it's more fun because you get to dive into the character's soul and figure out what made them so bad. No one's just bad; to be bad, there are small, little reasons, and big, monumental things that have happened and caused them to be that way.
Photo: PR Photos3/7What was it like to be a part of such a young cast? Do you have any funny stories from being on set?
We would all prank each other. I was not very good at pranking, but I got pranked a lot because I'm very gullible. The best prank pulled on me was when Alexander Ludwig had me text him directions from Nashville to Little Rock, and then from Little Rock to Boulder. He told me his phone was going to die, and stupidly enough, I texted him all the directions. My fingers were killing me afterwards! I had to get him back. Alexander was always in the gym and working out. When we were at dinner, he was talking about how in the mutt scene, he wanted to have his shirt all torn up so you could see his abs. I told him that Gary [the director] said he couldn't do that because he was losing muscle tone. He flipped! He had just come from the gym, and he said, "I better hit the gym" and got up to go. I told him it was a joke, and he was so upset.
Photo: PR Photos4/7Clove makes the first kill during the bloodbath and comes closest to killing Katniss. Was it physically difficult to film those dark scenes?
It was a lot of work, definitely. But I thought it was a lot of fun at the same time. The entire cast got to bond because we did all of our training ercises together. I wanted to do all of my own stunts; I wouldn't let the stunt double do anything.
The female characters in The Hunger Games are just as smart and powerful as the males. Did you find this empowering?
Definitely! Especially getting to learn how to use all the weapons and how to actually fight. That gave me a whole other confidence that I didn't know would ever happen because I'm so small. It's cool to be able to know that I'm a lot stronger than I thought I was.
Photo: PR Photos5/7How do you decide what to wear on the red carpet? Do you have any favorite designers?
When it comes to picking out what I want to wear, I try on as many things as I can. Feeling pretty and comfortable is always the most important, but you can never really feel comfortable in high heels. My selling point is when I start dancing in an outfit because that's when I know I really like it. I love Christian Siriano, and we've actually become really good friends. I wore one of his dresses to the Critics' Choice Awards, and he invited me to his fashion show and we hit it off. Last night, we had a movie night at his house, and the day before, we had dinner.
What was your favorite costume that you wore in The Hunger Games?
My gold armor in the chariot scene. It was a variation of the District 2 Peacekeeper uniform. It was gold and looked like metal, but it was a hard plastic. They had to snap us into it with belts and we could barely move. It wasn't the most comfortable costume, but it looked really cool!
Photo: PR Photos6/7Team Peeta, Gale, or Cato?
I think every single person who has read the books would want me to say Cato. I'm Team Katniss, only because she's my favorite character in the entire series.
Do you have a celebrity crush of your own?
I think you need to know someone to have a crush on them! Personality is so important. My friends always say it doesn't matter as long as a boy is hot. But seriously, would you want to date somebody who's super attractive but doesn't talk, or would you want to date someone who's really nice and good looking, but maybe isn't the best looking? I think Andrew Garfield is very cute. Brown eyes are my selling point. As long as the eyes are expressive— but I don't think I have a particular type. I've never dated anyone actually, so I don't know! As long as he has a good sense of humor and a nice personality.
Photo: PR Photos7/7What are your future plans? Do you have any films coming out?
I'm going to Stanford University for a pre-collegiate studies program so I can get my diploma. I want to go to college really badly, and I'm interested in Brown for psychology. I just filmed a movie called with Will and Jaden Smith. It's about a father and son who crash-land on Earth a thousand years after it's been inhabited. I play Jaden's friend— she has a crush on him and he has a crush on her, but they both don't know what to do about it!
