Sam Claflin Talks Finnick in GQ Style

 

Sam Claflin talks Finnick Odair and The Hunger Games in the latest edition of the UK bi-annual GQ Style, accompanied by some gorgeous photos shot by Matthew Brookes. 

"I wasn't in the right shape for Finnick for the audition. I had stubble and there was a picture of me at a premiere and everyone was like: who is this guy? He doesn't even have blue eyes, let alone copper-coloured hair, a tan or a six pack."
 

But he won the fans over thanks to a restricted diet of egg-white omelettes and porridge, and a brutal training regime: "Three hours a day, five days a week for four months."
 

That and his impressive performance, which I realise from our conversation, is an exemplar of the technical complexity of acting in big-budget blockbusters. As well as staying in his American accent and bearing the emotion of the scene, he had to develop a kind of muscle memory for the intricately mapped out actions sequences all "without hitting someone with the trident."
 

Technical, then, and tiring. He was mostly in Atlanta working long days for ten months shooting the last installments of The Hunger Games movies and was thrilled, when I spoke to him, to be back home in west London, which he loves.

"You can live an anonymous life here in a way that you can't in Los Angeles."
 

At the moment his fame is nowhere near the R-Patz level of hysteria and he walks about untroubled by pestering fans. Come Christmas though, I wonder if this will still be true, but either way, he doesn't have a plan for the next five years. "I'm just excited about what's around the corner."

 

These photos are courtesy of our friends at Sam Claflin Fans, so please visit their site for the full scans of the article and more pictures. 

Bonus photo: Sam Claflin portrait by Jeff Vespa taken while Sam was at TIFF promoting The Riot Club. 

 

Sam Claflin Talks Finnick Odair and Fan Negativity

Photos by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Sam Claflin talked a bit about playing Finnick Odair in Catching Fire and dealing with fan negativity about his casting with Reuters while promoting his new movie, The Quiet Ones. Sam keeps coming back to this subject and we sort of want to shake him and say, "Hey, Sam, we LOVE you as Finnick. Please move on!" Though we totally get it - that must have been absolutely brutal.

Q: You've often played the love interest. Are you worried about being typecast as the romantic hero?

A: It's definitely something that still scares me. Even now I'm in the process of making a decision of where I'm going to be going after "Hunger Games," and I want to make the right decision. I want a long-lasting career as opposed to someone that does the same thing over and over again, people get bored of you, and you then get washed up because the next young, better-looking version of you will arrive. I want to try my hand at new things, I want to be a character actor, I'd like to think of myself as a chameleon.

Q: What drew you to Finnick Odair in "Catching Fire"?

A: Knowing the journey that he goes on, where he begins; he's got this exterior, he's a confident, charming man, very good-looking and often judged on the way he looks, and I think he's the epitome of Hollywood ... but actually what's going on inside, there's a lot more going on. He's very similar to me in that sense, I think I put on a brave face a lot of the time, but actually what I'm thinking is I'm so nervous and intimated by what's going on. He's so vulnerable and naive to the world, he's just had to put on a front.

Q: What's been the most intimidating moment in your career?

A: I think portraying Finnick Odair would be the poignant moment in my career in the sense of I put most pressure on myself. I felt hugely intimidated entering into a franchise I was already a fan of, and had the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman coming on board, I didn't know what to do with myself. A lot of the fans showed a lot of negative thoughts with the role.

Q: How do you deal with that negativity?

A: I use it to my advantage. To me, that made me work harder ... it pushed me further, whereas I think if everyone was like, "He's perfect the way he is," I wouldn't have done anything; I would have just turned up. But I felt like, "I'm going to prove you wrong," and I can only do as much as I can do, and if they still hate me, they hate me, I can't change my face, I'm sorry. Well, I can with surgery! (laughs)

VIDEO: Sam Claflin On Being Cast As Finnick Odair in 'Catching Fire'

Sam Claflin still can't believe he nabbed the role of Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire! He talked about his good fortune during the press junket for The Quiet Ones.

Sam Claflin in People's "Ones to Watch"

 

Sam Claflin (Finnick Odair) has made it on People's list of "Ones to Watch" - up and coming stars. 

From People's article:

British actor Sam Claflin makes the list with his portrayal of victor Finnick Odair in this fall's The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. 

With the film's anticipated success, "I've been told, 'Beware what's about to happen,' " says Claflin. "But nothing has ever changed. I've witnessed the likes of Jennifer Lawrence and Kristen Stewart kind of not being able to walk five meters without having like knickers thrown at them. For me, being able to walk down the street and go to the butcher's is a good thing." 

On his transformation: "I'm English, so I like beer and burgers, and that had to be cut out completely. It was pretty brutal."

On his career change: After a broken ankle sidelined his dream of becoming a soccer player: "I'm like a farm boy. But I'm happy to be here."

Thanks to Sam Claflin Fans for the scan!