Julianne Moore Reveals The ‘Only’ Reason Why She Joined The Hunger Games Cast

Julianne Moore in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

Back in 2013, Julianne Moore was eyed for a crucial role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2. This role was President Coin who was the leader of District 13 looking to be the new President of Panem once she and the other rebels decided to take down the villainous President Snow. It's a vital role in the films, and it turns out the Oscar winner joined the cast of the dystopian film series for a single simple reason, and it's an endearing one.

In Mockingjay, Julianne Moore plays a complex role as her character takes on a leadership position with no awareness that she's imitating the power plays of the tyrannical President Snow. In a TikTok released by People, the May December actress spoke about the “only” reason she took on the role of President Alma Coin in the first place, saying:

I’m only in The Hunger Games because my daughter was reading [them.] I actually bought the books for my son, he’s older than my daughter, and she was reading them. We were on vacation, I had nothing to read, and I picked the copy of this book, and I was like ‘This is amazing. Oh my god, I think there’s a part for me.’ And it might have been the only thing my kids ever cared about that I was in. It was fantastic for them.

As Julianne Moore hasn’t taken on very many family film roles, I can understand why she would say yes to being part of the young adult book-adapted series. If you want your kids to be able to see more of your movies, playing an iconic role in books they read would certainly be the way to go. I'd like to believe they were really proud of their mom.

A lot of actors make movies their kids would enjoy like Ryan Reynolds, who took on Detective Pikachu so he could be in a movie his kids would love compared to his usual R-rated stuff. 

Jennifer Garner was also inspired by her kids to star in Netflix’s Yes Day after saying no to them a lot during the pandemic. Garner’s kids may not watch their mother’s movies to avoid seeing her portray sadness or romance, but it’s still nice she’s been signing on to more family films so her kids have the option of watching them.

The Freeheld actress slayed as President Coin making the role as haunting and sinister as it was written in Suzanne Collins' books. Plus, it was a project her kids were stoked about. So, all around, Moore joining this movie was a win.

As for what The Hunger Games cast member is doing right now, she is starring in the Netflix new release May December, playing a controversial figure being shadowed by an actress who plans on playing her in a new movie.

Julianne Moore’s next movie will be co-starring with Sydney Sweeney in the thriller Echo Valley (which will eventually be available with an Apple TV+ subscription). It's about a horse trainer testing to see how far she’ll go to save her daughter after she shows up at her house covered in someone else’s blood. From the sounds of it, I’m confident this will be yet another role Moore will wow audiences with.

Julianne Moore is not only a dedicated actress, but a devoted mother as she took on her Hunger Games role because she and her kids were reading the same books. It’s a great way to invite your kids along for the ride of your career, and now maybe they want to watch Moore's other great movies, like May December

If you want to watch the Golden Globe winner’s performance in Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2, you can stream it on Starz.

Carly Levy
Entertainment Writer

Just your average South Floridian cinephile who believes the pen is mightier than the sword.