Sam Claflin is featured in Marie Claire UK's May edition and he talks about his career, his wife Laura Haddock, and, of course, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay co-stars with whom he has, ‘probably too much fun.’
THERE’S A MOMENT ABOUT FIVE MINUTES INTO meeting Hunger Games star Sam Claflin where it feels less like a regular celebrity interview and more like a cathartic therapy session. Having begun a sentence with, ‘It hasn’t felt like my life has changed,’ Claflin starts to unravel. ‘I just feel very grown-up all of a sudden,’ he ponders, sinking into the sofa of a private lounge in a central London hotel.‘I have responsibilities. I have to take a few risks and there’s a lot more pressure on my shoulders now than there was a few years ago. I felt I could make a mistake and no one would care, whereas now people are starting to take note…’
Courtesy of Sam Claflin FansThere is an incredibly charming interview with Sam Claflin (okay, I'm biased - MC) in the latest issue of Elle UK. In it, he speaks about his newfound fame, wife Laura Haddock, and, of course, playing Finnick in Catching Fire.
An excerpt:
In the book, Katniss describes Finnick thus: 'An amazing physical specimen. One of the most stunning, sensuous people on the planet.' Sam Calflin wiggles awkwardly in his chair. 'Ha, yeah, miscast!' he grins. This was the complaint from certaint sectors of the Hunger Games' fans, who took issue with Claflin's casting; he wasn't manly enough, muscular enough, bronzed enough. 'I saw people's reactions and some were harsh. Not to the point where I'm going to kill myself but I thought "I'm sorry I'm not YOUR Finnick. Trust me, when I read the book, I didn't see me as Finnick either!"' he smiles.
But looks aren't everything and Claflin aced it. 'He's a very complex character and you have to be able to portray the vulnerabilities as well as the charm and charisma. There was something I did with the acting part of it that they liked,' he says, with a shrug.
Sam Claflin (Finnick Odair), poised for international fame pending Catching Fire's release, has been featured in this month's issue of Nylon Guys, a men's fashion magazine.
“I’m one of those people who, the moment they say ‘cut,’ I go back to being Sam. Take Finnick Odair, for example: I’m not one to continue my American accent when I go home. I’m kind of happy being who I am, and I guess I’ve learned from the best. Like Jennifer Lawrence, who can literally be joking with you on set until the moment they say “action,” then cry on the spot. She’s just phenomenal to watch, and that’s the way I want to work.”
Sam rehearsing the monket mutt scene in Catching Fire?
Sam Claflin presented last night at the Jameson Empire Awards (see our story HERE) and he gave us some amazing information during the pre-show live stream interview. He's seen the Catching Fire trailer AND he talks about Annie Cresta as Finnick's motivation. Will we see Annie in the movie? It's a relief to know that she's part of the storyline AND that there is a trailer ready and waiting for us.
Sam Claflin sat down with Teen Vogue during a break from shooting The Hunger Games: Catching Fire to talk about landing the coveted role of Finnick Odair, his intense four months of training, working with Jennifer Lawrence, and his bromance with Josh Hutcherson.
Here's a bonus video from Teen Vogue's exclusive interview:
On scoring the role of Finnick:
Yeah, so they decided to go with me as opposed to any of the other young, hot, good-looking actors out there. [Laughs] I auditioned like everyone else. I didn't know what it was for before I went in, and I hadn't read the books. Looking at the page with a character named Finnick, I was like, Who the heck is Finnick? And then I saw Katniss on the page, and I was like, Ahh, OK, maybe this is The Hunger Games. Then they decided they would dye my hair blonde, and presto, there's your Finnick Odair!
On his intense training for the movie (and carrying Mags!):
From the moment I set foot in Atlanta, they had me at the gym, working out twice a day. And then stunt training, it's nonstop. To be fair, I spend a lot of the film carrying an old lady on my back, as Finnick carries Mags for the majority of the arena scenes. I feel like every day of filming is a workout, running around Hawaii with little old Lynn Cohen on my back. As for my diet, I think I've eaten more chickens than there are in the world. [Laughs] I would eat chicken and asparagus for lunch and dinner, and for breakfast I'd have an omelet and oatmeal. And I had that every day for four months. I've talked to my friends and said, "Oh my God, I'm so depressed, I just want a burger." And they're like, "You don't know how lucky you are to be doing what you are doing."
On working with Jennifer and Josh:
Jen is the most talented actress I have had the pleasure of working with. She is truly amazing. She has everything already and doesn't have to try. But the fact that she is so professional and hardworking and willing to get her hands dirty makes her even more amazing. With Josh, we hit it off from the first conversation we ever had, which was about soccer. He asked me if I like soccer, and I was like, Yes, I'm English! It kind of got blown out of proportion, spending time off set playing soccer. It's a definite bromance. I think I'm quoting him on that, or Jen.
On what fans can expect from his portrayal of Finnick:
All I can say is I try very hard and hopefully I won't disappoint people. He's a very charming physical being, and hopefully he will be exactly what people read in the book and I won't be doing an injustice. I purposefully did not want to watch anything I've done so far; I actually don't like looking at my face, so I don't like watching myself on the screen. It's an insecurity thing I have. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, I think, and I strive for perfection. The reason I'm an actor is because I'll never be able to be perfect. I hope people enjoy my interpretation. Hopefully we'll make a bigger and better one this time around.
“Before I got the part? No, no. Funnily enough, when I first went to see the first The Hunger Games, the original, I had no idea that it was a trilogy. I had no idea it was based on books. I just knew there was a big hype around – you know it was being called the new Twilight. And what have you. So I think I was curious as to what this big thing, this… You know, I was very curious. And kind of got the audition for this part of Finnick Odair. I was in Los Angeles. I remember saying ‘Who the hell is this Finnick?’
On Finding Finnick:
“And I tried to go on Wikipedia and do as much research as possible prior to my first audition, and luckily I was kind of steered in the right direction by the casting director and the director himself. Between the moment that I was sort of offered the part and I was kind of trying to work out the smaller details as the contracts and what have you, I read the books and I read them in five days. Couldn’t quite help but turn the page and keep reading, you know, you can’t just put it down.”
On Fan Reaction:
“I mean, I’m a member of Twitter and, you know, specially when it was first announced there was a huge backlash. Some positive and some very negative, you know, people were like saying they want to kill themselves, that I wasn’t anywhere near a good looking Finnick. Everyone has their own perception of what a good-looking person is. And basically, all I can do is do my best and you know it’s – you have to kinda try not reading the bad press or whatever, you know?”
On Being Accident-Prone:
"This is actually questionable how much I can talk about ’cause I was specifically asked not to mention some of the accidents that happened there. Let’s just say I’m a very, very clumsy person. There was fall after fall after fall – I mean we basically, me and Francis, the director, we were laughing that there will be a whole DVD extra, you know, a whole DVD on its own for the blooper reel just for me. Because every time he’d say ‘Action’, you know just before he’d light the fire, I’d slip over or I’d fall – even when I’m standing still, I’d manage to fall over so um, there were plenty of accidents. My dad would probably tell you on the private.
We highly recommend listening to the entire 17-ish minute podcast HERE. Sam is charming, self-effacing and lovely. Shame on you, Twitterverse!
