‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Star Nick Benson Talks How Jessup Would Have Handled the Games If He Had Been Healthy

Jessup never had a fair chance, that’s for sure. Lucy Gray Baird’s fellow tribute from District 12 was doomed from the moment he was forced to go to Panem and compete in the 10th Hunger Games in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. With her strength and commanding presence, Jessup’s mindset from the beginning has been to keep Lucy Gray safe. He never acted as a potential winner, but only as a protector.

Hollywood life spoke exclusively with Nick Benson about his role as Jessup. In the film, Jessup becomes enraged after being bitten by a bat on the train to Panem. He chases Lucy Gray into the sand and falls to her death. Nick revealed how he thinks Jessup would have made it to the Games if he had been healthy. Would he ultimately sacrifice himself for Lucy?

“That’s a great question. In the book they show their strength. He’s supposed to be a big, strong guy. He lifts his mentor in the chair, so I think he would be my strength if needed. But I don’t know… at least since what I read in the book, it didn’t seem very aggressive,” Nick said. “I think maybe the priority would be to stay with Lucy and make sure she’s okay. Not just for the tributes, but also for Snow, who I don’t really trust because she’s Capitol scum. I think the priority would definitely have been to be with Lucy, to make sure she was okay, because she’s a beautiful young artist. Being an older man, I’m sure I would feel a responsibility to make sure he’s okay since we have that ally.

Nick asks if Jessup would have been able to kill Lucy during the Games if the decision had been up to the two of them. “I don’t know if I could do it. Truly. “I don’t think he could do it,” the actor admitted.

OH Big shot The student revealed that he auditioned for Jessup and Reaper from District 11. At first, Nick noted that this resonated more with the District 12 tribute because he is “described as a giant, gentle guy. I’m a big guy, but really friendly and non-confrontational. So, at least from that, I thought, okay, he seems like a character I can get into pretty easily.

Most of Nick’s scenes are sideways. Raquel Zegler, who plays Lucy Gray Baird. “We were literally catapulted into the Games because she came straight from London. I was coming back from COVID,” Nick said of their first interaction. “On the first day of shooting I tested negative after a week with COVID. After that, the two of us were thrown into the sand together. We got on well straight away. He’s so sweet and funny. I feel like it wasn’t very difficult to build that relationship with her. We were just laughing and having fun. “I think this laid a good foundation for the rest of the shoot.”

The tenth Hunger Games is like no other. Mentors stepped up for honors, and this is how young Coriolanus Snow met Lucy Gray. An explosion in the arena before the Games changed the stakes, giving tributes like Lucy more places to hide. The arena transformed from a bright, clean death stage into an amphitheater of rubble and chaos.

“There was little to no green screen,” Nick said. Hollywood life on the sand. “At least while I was there, as far as I know, we didn’t use green screen. Everything was perfect. I think maybe they did green screen stuff for the filming. But other than that, everything was perfect. I think the specific architecture they were looking for was readily available in Germany and Berlin. The stadium we used in Poland was like a multipurpose space that they decorated.”

He continued: “Overall the production designers did an incredible job, but especially with the sand because it looked so real. In fact, I know there were some moments where it wasn’t too difficult to feel like you were in the Hunger Games. I had to check where the exits were to make sure I could get out.”

movie buffs, Susanna Collins best-selling prequel, they debated for years whether Coriolanus really loved Lucy Gray Baird or not. Nick expressed his opinion on the “controversial” romance.

“I don’t think he’s ever met a girl like her before in his life, so there was definitely passion, for sure,” Nick said. “I think there might be the kind of love that she felt or something that she thinks is love, but especially in the part where they talk about trust, Lucy says, ‘Trust is everything to me. If there is no trust, you are dead. It’s a really beautiful scene and I feel like that’s where you see him falter a little bit. He’s too involved. I don’t know if it’s love anymore. I think they could get him because his character is very attractive. “I think I’m definitely in love with her, but in the sense of true love, I don’t think it ever existed.” The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Birds and Serpents It’s already in theaters.