Jennifer Lawrence plays protagonist Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers to replace her younger sister when she gets chosen to represent District 12 for the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death. Apparently the actress fills the caring big sister role well: She previously went from obscurity to Oscar darling when she played a poor, tough teen raising her brother and sister in the indie flick Winter's Bone.

Josh Hutcherson plays fellow District 12 tribute Peeta in The Hunger Games. He first made his mark as a precocious kid in such films as Little Manhattan and Bridge to Terabithia and hasn't stopped acting since. More recently he showed his maturity as a confused teen to lesbian moms in The Kids are Alright.

Australian actor Liam Hemsworth portrays Katniss' best friend Gale in The Hunger Games and got his big break starring opposite Miley Cyrus in The Last Song. Sparks flew on set and the two have been together on and off since.

A veteran actor, Stanley Tucci has shown wide range with his more recent roles: a creepy killer in The Lovely Bones and a Vogue stylist in The Devil Wears Prada. Add to that list his colorful Hunger Gamesalter ego Caesar Flickerman, the gregarious interviewer of the tributes.

Before starring in films such as White Men Can't Jump Natural Born Killers and No Country for Old Men, Woody Harrelson made his mark as a wide-eyed bartender named Woody when he joined Cheers in Season 4. In Hunger Games, he spends more time on the other side of the bar. As Haymitch Abernathy, the only living Hunger Games victor from District 12, he acts as Peeta and Katniss' mentor, soliciting sponsors to keep them alive — if he can stay sober.

Elizabeth Banks stars as The Hunger Games overdressed, overdyed and overprimped Effie Trinket, the escort to the District 12 tributes. She' s been on the comedy scene since her days in the cult flick Wet Hot American Summer and later reunited with co-star Paul Rudd in Role Models. She has a recurring role on 30 Rock playing Jack Donaghy's wife Avery, a political pundit who's currently detained in North Korea.

Donald Sutherland was the go-to leading man throughout the '70s, but his role in 1980's Ordinary People landed him a Golden Globe nomination and sent him on a journey of eclectic gigs, including the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie and Six Degrees of Separation. In The Hunger Games, he portrays President Coriolanus Snow, the tyrannical leader of the country of Panem.

Wes Bentley sports some artistic facial hair as the Head Gamemaker of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, but he broke out in American Beauty playing a camcorder-wielding teen who barely had to shave but made up for it with a rather jaded outlook on life. Since then, he's also starred in The Claim, The Game of Their Lives, Jonah Hex and Gone.

Paula Malcomson is no stranger to playing the grieving mother, a role she took on in the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica. Playing Katniss' mother in Hunger Games, though, is a far cry from her breakout role as hardened hooker Trixie in HBO's Deadwood.

Toby Jones portrays The Hunger Games' legendary announcer and sportscaster Claudius Templesmith, but he previously played another type of wordsmith. In the 2006 film Infamous, Jones played Truman Capote, the flamboyant novelist and author of In Cold Blood. Fans of science fiction and fantasy might also recognize him as Doctor Who's Dreamlord and as the voice of Dobby the house elf in the Harry Potter films.

Lenny Kravitz has been a long-time rock star with big hits like "Are You Gonna Go My Way" and "Fly Away." After a bit part in Precious, the singer is making his major acting debut with Hunger Games as Cinna, Katniss and Peeta's stylist.

As The Hunger Games' Cato, Alexander Ludwig has brute strength and few scruples. But before that he played one half of the telepathic duo who helped Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson save the day from a hostile alien takeover in Race to Witch Mountain.