Hunger Games actor Alexander Ludwig is on the cover of Da Man’s April/May 2012 issue. Read Da Man’s exclusive interview with Alexander:
DA MAN: Your mother was an actress, but from what we’ve read, your parents were a bit apprehensive about letting you get into acting at a young age (nine); how did you persuade them to allow you to get into acting?
Alexander Ludwig: My parents know how passionate I’ve always been about acting. I convinced them this was something that I was going to put my heart and soul into.DA MAN: Do your parents now encourage you with your acting or are they still a bit wary?
Alexander Ludwig: They encourage me 100 percent. I couldn’t do it without their support.DA MAN: Your latest movie, of course, is The Hunger Games, what can you tell us about your experience and role working on that movie?
Alexander Ludwig: In terms of my role as Cato, I was very fortunate to have a lot of creative freedom to develop my character. It was a career-changing experience to learn from and work with [Director] Gary Ross. On set, everyone became my family. In any off time, we were able to explore the sights of our shooting location [the wilds of North Carolina].DA MAN: Do you feel fully prepared for the immensity that is The Hunger Games franchise?
Alexander Ludwig: I’ve been told many times that my life is going to change and, in many ways, it already has. I’m trying not to feel overwhelmed and just take it as it comes. I’m not sure there’s any way to fully prepare for something like this.DA MAN: You said you were “not big” physically, and had to undergo a rigorous diet and training to be intimidating for your role in The Hunger Games. Now that you’re done with the shooting and almost done with promoting it, would you rather go back to the not-so-big you or do you plan to build on your current physique?
Alexander Ludwig: I gained almost 40 pounds of muscle for this role. I’m currently working on getting back to how I was before Cato. As an actor, I feel that it’s important to make a physical commitment to create a character and it’s also important for me to return to my normal self.
Read the rest of the interview on DA MAN.
