Josh Hutcherson is best known for playing Peeta in The Hunger Games, but what else does this superstar have going on?
He works closely with a nonprofit. He has more than one tattoo. He has a younger brother, (they were even in a film together!). He owns an awesome house. He watches reality TV (same, Josh, same). He adopted a disabled pit bull. He has some crazy stories from his days on set. He may be engaged (I KNOW!), and he is open to cannibalism (I'm serious). And just because he is done with The Hunger Games doesn’t mean he is done with Hollywood...He’s actually just getting started.
The 15 facts below may be news to some of his fans, but these stories and details are just further proof that this guy is AH-MA-ZING.
15 He Has A Secret Language
Kids will be kids, andwhen Josh was younger, he apparently made up a language with a friend—one of complete gibberish—so that they could talk about inappropriate things in front of adults.
He has shown off this crazy way of speaking in interviews, and it's pretty easy to imagine little Joshy running around with friends, shooting hoops, and playing made-up adventure games — all while having deep and important conversations that only they could understand. Also, not being able to speak Spanish served as a bit of a challenge while he was filming Escobar: Paradise Lost; he even joked in an interview onConanthat since he only knew one (real) language, that made him one thing: American, as he was surrounded by trilingual and bilingual cast and crew members.
14 He Likes Food...And Flesh?
Josh may want to consider doing horror films next, as he has admitted that he iscuriousabout the taste of flesh! Instead of chowing on flesh, though, he sticks to more normal foods, and he even put on 15 pounds of muscle when playing Peeta Mellark due to eating lots of chicken, fish, and vegetables. He had to eat 4,000 calories worth actually. His hard work paid off, and he beat out young actors such as Evan Peters and Alex Pettyfer in order to star in the book-inspired films.
While filming, he and Liam Hemsworth would go to White Castle, order numerous hamburgers and—at least once!—and eat so much, that theythrew up together.At least the burgers probably went down (and back up) more easily than human flesh would have.
13 J-Law Gave Him A Concussion
Once upon a time, Josh took a stuffed dummy from the set of The Hunger Games, and he put it in Jennifer Lawrence’s bathroom. This apparently scared the young actress so much that she peed her pants! Luckily, her character shows a little more courage than this. J-Law got Josh back, though...when she accidentally kicked him in the head.
The two had fun when they could while filming, and they had to perform some pretty wild stunts together.However, it all went a little too far this time, as Josh was knocked out and suffered a concussion. Nevertheless, the films went on, and Josh even serves as an executive now atJetLag Productions, an LA-based production company. When he stopped being Peeta, he continued on, working harder than ever and segueing into directing and producing.
12 He Lives In Heath Ledger’s Old House
His parents knew that acting attracted Josh, yet they thought it was just a phase. However, at the age ofeight, Josh went through the phone book and contacted an agency himself! His parents were nervous but supportive, so his mother moved out to Los Angeles with him, as Josh began auditioning for roles. From then on, he was growing up on film sets, though he did return to Kentucky to attend Ryle High School for one semester, where he played on the school's soccer team. He later left public school to return to acting and enjoyed learning on his own so much more than in a classroom.
Josh now lives full time in Los Angeles, and in May of 2012, he bought a house:a 1,861-square-foot house that Heath Ledger used to own in the Hollywood Hills.This small ranch was built in 1951, and it only cost Josh $2.5 million...
11 He Co-Founded An LGBTQ Nonprofit
Joshco-foundeda nonprofit called Straight But Not Narrow — an ally awareness campaign that uses comedy to bring straight teens and their LGBTQ peers together. The ironic part is that he can’t wait to shut it down altogether; meaning that a time had come about that was filled with love, peace, equality, and acceptance for ALL humans of ALL types.This cause is near and dear to his heart, as he had two homosexual uncles who died of AIDS before he was even born.As a supporter of gay rights and as an activist within the community, he received theVanguard Awardat the GLAAD Media Awards in 2012.
When it comes to his own sexual orientation, Josh said that he is, personally,mostly straight,but hasn’t ruled out being attracted to a man.
10 He’s Been In A Music Video.
In2016, Josh added something else to his resume: a music video. He was in the video for "Middle," a song by the French electronic music producer DJ Snake. DJ Snake is a Grammy-nominated producer and artist known for songs like "Turn Down for What." Bipolar Sunshine, a British singer who used to be with the Manchester band, Kid British, was also on the song, and is currently working on his debut album.
In the video, Josh played a heartbroken superhero (with some creepy-yet-hot facepaint going on)and then met actress Kiersey Clemons’ character, and the two went on a transformative nighttime adventure. It was full of adventure, love, loss, and life. At least The Hunger Games probably prepared him for performing exciting leaps over buildings, while still feeling a bit lost, confused and scared.
9 He Recently Injured Himself
On October 1st of this year, Josh was spotted in the LAX Airport on crutches.He apparently injured himself while lifting weights and was having to move pretty slowly on the crutches while wearing a velcro leg brace. He was still all smiles for the cameras, though, and didn’t seem to have any trouble carrying his own luggage (thanks to all those muscles he put on to play Peeta!). He was scheduled to start filming Die in a Gunfight this month in Boston: a film that’s an updated version of Romeo and Juliet, and now it’s unknown if this will delay filming. In the film, Josh is set to play the Romeo-esque character, Ben, while Kaya Scodelario will play opposite of him as Mary. The film also stars Helen Hunt and Olivia Munn.
8 He Is Not Single
We have some bad news: Josh is not single. Currently, Josh is dating Spanish actress Claudia Traisac (and they may even be engaged!).The two met while filming Escobar: Paradise Lost, a film about a surfer’s relationship with the niece of Pablo Escobar — and about love, loss, life, and an infamous family business.
These two survive their long-distance relationship by traveling to visit each other often and Face-timing even more! Josh has alsobeen linked toactress Chloe Bridges (in 2012), singer Rochella Danishei (from 2009 to 2011), and model Lanchen Mihalic (in 2009), along with may other beautiful women. His most notable girlfriend would be Vanessa Hudgens; the two starred together in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and briefly dated But now that he and Claudia are so serious, I hope only good things for them!
7 He’s A Bit Of A Daredevil
Josh is known for running for his life and fighting to stay safe in The Hunger Games movies (as he played Peeta Mellark), and he carries some of that rowdy, wild, and exciting behavior with him in hisreal life.He likes to ride motorcycles, rock climb, and compete in triathlons.He has three reported tattoos:a Libra sign on his left wrist, an anchor on the right side of his torso, and a pirate ship on his back (between his shoulders).
If being an adventure seeker and dare devil isn't hot enough, he's also is a dog-lover and has had three canine pals: Diesel, Nixon, and Driver (a disabled pit bull he adopted in2012). And since his birthday is October 12th, he often celebrates his birthday by attending Universal Studio’s “Hollywood Horror Nights” with friends.
6 He JUST Got Instagram
Josh may be one of the biggest young male stars out there, but he didn't gain popularity from Instagram, that's for sure.He just joined the social media platform this year, on March 23rd.In his first post, he admitted that he was not exactly sure what to do, but he would rely on friends to hold his hand through the process (which, surely, friends and fans were and are eager to do!). He ended the post by saying that this is was, in fact, a photo, and signed off with Peace and Love and Equality. He's been on Twitter since 2009, though, and uses the site to share news about his movies, photos of himself at cool events, political statements, and music recommendations to his 2.93 million followers.
