Biography
Josh Hutcherson does not have any special training as an actor, but was gradually pushed to choose a profession by his grandfather, a professional psychologist. He instilled in his grandson an interest in human characters, explained what forms his core, what then grows into this core, and why people behave differently in the same situation. And Josh felt that he liked to try on different images and play with them.
Embed from Getty Images Actor Josh Hutcherson
Now knowledge of psychology helps Hutcherson to calmly perceive popularity and not give vent to emotions. Fame comes with responsibility.
“My fans are young people, often teenagers, and their personality is shaped by imitating others - friends or heroes on the screen. If they imitate me, it means that I also contribute to the development of their personality.”
Personal life of Josh Hutcherson
Sports, animals and, of course, work!
Josh is a sporty guy, loves to travel, enjoys football and triathlon, and is not averse to frolicking at the bowling alley. Dogs and cats always lived in his house; not very long ago he became the owner of an injured puppy, whom he took out and gave him shelter.
At 22, it’s too early to think about getting married, especially when your career is gaining momentum so rapidly. True, he already has a place to bring his chosen one: Josh has become the new owner of a spacious house. He chose this mansion not by chance - the property belonged to Heath Ledger, and Hutcherson has great respect for the work of his colleague who died so early. His other idol is Jake Gyllenhall.
There were rumors that while working on the film “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” Josh became close to Vanessa Hudgens, but if it was a romance, it was fleeting.
After the premiere of the film “Paradise Lost” with the participation of Hutcherson, his name was associated with Claudia Traisac (she played the role of the girlfriend of the hero Josh). Perhaps the lovers are still together. Although actor Josh Hutcherson is still an “official” bachelor.
Childhood and youth
Josh Hutcherson was born in the small town of Union, located in the American state of Kentucky. Chris Hutcherson, Josh's father, was an analyst for an environmental organization. Michelle Fightmaster's mother worked for Delta Air Lines at the time of her son's birth. She would later become Josh's personal assistant. The family also has a younger son, Connor.
Embed from Getty Images Josh Hutcherson as a child
As a child, Hutcherson only talked about movie actors and dreamed of being one of them. His parents considered this a whim, believing that over time he would outgrow such a hobby. However, neither Michelle nor Chris hindered their son in his aspirations, allowing him to participate in auditions.
At the age of 8, Josh found the address of an acting agency and independently became its client, thanks to which he gained experience in filming an advertisement for the American supermarket Kroger and the educational film “Vacation with Bible School.”
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Josh Hutcherson as a child and his mother
Hutcherson attended New Heaven Elementary School in Union until age 9, and then was homeschooled. During his senior year, he attended Ryle High School for one semester, but spent little time studying textbooks. For most of his childhood, the boy either worked on a film set or played sports - football, tennis, triathlon. The actor retained his love for physical exercise and sports in the future.
In 2002, Josh met acting teacher Bob Luke, who advised him to try himself not at local castings, but at auditions in Los Angeles. The 10-year-old actor moves to Hollywood with his mother and gets his first role in a feature film.
Movies
In 2002, Josh Hutcherson appeared in several television series in not very prominent roles. He played Nicky Harper in Homemade Blend, young Glen in Becoming Glen, and the boy Matt in the episode "First Snow" of the popular medical series ER.
Josh Hutcherson (still from the film "Zathura: A Space Adventure")
The following year, he continued to star in the television films "Girl Brigade", "Wonder Dogs", "Firing Line" and "Wild Days". For the latter film, he was nominated for the Young Artist Award, which is considered an analogue of the Oscar for young show business stars.
Also in 2003, Josh made his big screen debut in an episode of the biographical comedy American Splendor, dedicated to the writer and literary critic, author of the comic book series of the same name, Harvey Picard. The main role was played by Paul Giamatti.
Further additions to Hutcherson’s filmography include the series “Eddie’s Father,” the drama “The Last Ride,” the teen sports film “Motorcycle Kings,” the comedy “Hit and Scream,” the family film “Madhouse on Wheels” and the science-fiction film “Zathura: A Space Adventure.”
Josh Hutcherson (still from the film "Little Manhattan")
The actor tried his hand at voice acting several times. Josh's voice is spoken by Bruce Wayne, familiar to viewers as Batman in his childhood, in the series "Justice League", Todd Bartley in the animated film "Jolly Wagon", Markle in the English version of the anime "Howl's Moving Castle", the main character of the cartoon "The Polar Express" and Nod in fantasy "Epic".
The young actor's first popularity came in 2005, when the romantic melodrama about a child's first love, Little Manhattan, was released, in which Josh played the main role. The success was cemented by the film “Bridge to Terabithia” about school friends living in a fictional world, where actress Annasophia Robb became his partner. Hutcherson receives two awards at once at the next Young Artist ceremony for his performance as Jess Aarons.
Josh Hutcherson as Jess Aarons (still from the film "Bridge to Terabithia")
Josh also plays key characters in the family comedy “Fire Dog,” the crime drama “A Lifetime’s Flight,” the film adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” and the fantasy action film “The Tale of a Vampire.”
In 2010, Hutcherson starred in the tragicomedy The Kids Are All Right with Mia Wasikowski, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. The main characters of the film are the children of a lesbian couple who wish to find their biological father. The project received high praise from critics, confirmed by 2 Golden Globes, a special award from the Berlin Film Festival, awarded for highlighting the problems of homosexual people, 4 Oscar and BAFTA nominations.
In the spring of 2012, the first part of the popular dystopia “The Hunger Games” based on the novel by Suzanne Collins was released. The book was on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 2 years, and its film adaptation became a real breakthrough in Josh’s creative biography.
Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark (still from the film "The Hunger Games")
Hutcherson got the role of Peeta Mellark, one of the main ones in the film. The remaining characters are distributed between Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland. The success of the film exceeded all expectations, and the actor explained it this way:
“We show the viewer in a grotesque form what he fears in real life. The film seems to put a magnifying glass on our common problems. Secondly, I am impressed by the fact that ordinary little people become heroes. Well, thirdly, we must not forget about the magic of the saga - the audience becomes attached to the characters, begins to perceive them as their good friends, in much the same way as housemates.”
Later, continuations of this action game appeared - “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Part 1" and "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Part 2". For this role, Josh received MTV Movie Awards, Teen Choice Awards, People's Choice Awards and CinemaCon Award.
Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence (still from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire)
In addition, the earned fee allowed the actor to feel freedom and not be limited in necessary expenses. He bought a house for his parents and paid for his brother’s college education. But even if I didn’t receive a lot of money, but continued to act a lot, I would still feel happy, the young man noted in an interview.
In parallel with The Hunger Games, Josh worked on another dystopian film, the action film The Elusives. The film also stars Chris Hemsworth and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The public did not appreciate the idea of World War III and North Korea's attack on the United States: the film failed at the box office.
Connor Cruise and Josh Hutcherson (still from the movie "The Elusive")
Even after completing the first part of the film tetralogy, which made him a star, Hutcherson said that he intended to take up directing, since “I have interesting stories in my head and have an understanding of how to explain to actors what is required of them.” Josh dreams of starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal or Ralph Fiennes in his movie.
The first was a short film called Monkey, part of The Big Script, a five-film series produced by Hutcherson and his mother's Turkeyfoot Productions, Indigenous Media and Condé Nast Entertainment.
Josh Hutcherson (still from the film "Paradise Lost")
By the way, the actor proved himself as a producer even earlier, in the Spanish-Franco-Belgian thriller with a melodramatic bent, “Paradise Lost,” where he played on an equal footing with Benicio Del Toro himself. Josh's character is a young surfer in love with the niece of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
In 2016, Hutcherson received the leading role in the drama based on the novel by Nobel Prize winner in literature John Steinbeck, “And We Lost the Battle.” The film told about the formation of the trade union movement in America in the 1930s. The director was so impressed by the actor’s performance that he invited Josh to the next film, “The Long Home,” which is expected to premiere in 2019.
Josh Hutcherson (still from the film "The Long Home")
A drama with comedy elements, “The Disaster Artist” is a film about a film. The plot revolves around the creation of director Tommy Wiseau's film "The Room", which is considered both a cult and the worst film in the history of cinema. Hutcherson participated in the filming with brothers Dave and James Franco, Zac Efron and Seth Rogen.
The actor refused to participate in the political thriller “Betrayal for Beginners” for safety reasons, since the film was filmed in Jordan and Morocco. Had he made a different decision, he could have played a UN employee uncovering a conspiracy between the government and the owners of oil corporations in post-war Iraq.
Carier start
Due to the fact that the city where the future famous actor was born and raised was very small, the still very young Josh Hutcherson, whose photo at this age can be found on the Internet, decides to leave home and move away. To fulfill his dream, he chooses California.
Being still very young, he understood perfectly well that there was a lot of competition here. And it will be very difficult for him to get an audition without having connections in the cinematography. The boy understood perfectly well that he had to work hard even to “jump over his head” in order to be noticed.
And so it happened. Because of his persistence, he was invited to audition for the series “Emergency”. He passed these tests successfully and got one of the small roles. This is how the boy made his debut in big cinema.
After some time, he was invited to work as the voice of one of the characters in the Justice League series. These were the first films starring Josh Hutcherson. These works gave the boy a lot of life experience and taught him a lot about acting.
Active work on television projects and other little-known films was from 2002 to 2005. The boy then acted a lot, dubbing films and cartoons.
The guy got his main role in the film “Little Manhattan”. Work on this painting took place in 2005. Then the boy was only 13 years old and thanks to these filming, he began to be recognized on the streets.
According to the film's script, real childhood feelings arise between classmates and they were supposed to kiss at the end. This was exactly what the young man’s first real kiss was.
In the same year, the boy was actively working on other paintings. So, he gets the main role in the film “Zathura. Space adventure."
And in 2006, Josh got one of the key roles in the film “Madhouse on Wheels.” Also, the boy is currently working on another film called “Bridge to Terabithia” and in the funny family comedy “Fire Dog”.
During this period, the actor played different roles, so Josh Hutcherson’s height was exactly such that he could easily be entrusted with the role of both his peer and a boy a year or two younger, or older.
In 2012, a film called “The Hunger Games” was released on television. It was this film that Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, who took part in this project, gained great popularity and fame.
Personal life
In his personal life, Josh is accompanied entirely by actresses. The young man admits that it is easier to meet with colleagues – the same rhythm of life, interests and complete mutual understanding. Only there is no wife or children, because he falls in love too easily, but it’s better this way than not knowing this magical feeling at all.
Josh Hutcherson and Claudia Traisak (still from the film "Paradise Lost")
The actor dated singer and TV series star Victoria Justice, but the couple broke up in 2011. After filming the film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Vanessa Hudgens became his girlfriend. The next chosen one is the partner in the thriller “Paradise Lost” Claudia Traisak.
In 2013, Josh Hutcherson left the Golden Globes party with Selena Gomez. Information has repeatedly appeared in the American media that celebrities are having an affair, but they have not officially confirmed the data on close relationships.
Despite the fact that the young man adheres to a traditional orientation, he actively opposes homophobia and supports tolerance towards sexual minorities.
Embed from Getty Images Josh Hutcherson
Josh has a small height for a man - 170 cm, which does not prevent him from looking impressive at photo shoots for glossy publications and on the red carpet. The actor famously handles a Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight, loves leather jackets, and is so knowledgeable about women's shoes and fashion brands that he gives expensive gifts to all his girlfriends and mother, “after all, the right bag or shoes bring so much happiness.”
The man's body is decorated with tattoos - an anchor, a pirate ship and the zodiac sign Libra. There are a lot of pictures of pets on Instagram - dogs named Nixon, Diesel and Driver, and there are also cats, but Josh himself doesn’t remember how many.
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Josh Hutcherson with a dog
In 2012, Hutcherson bought a mansion called “Treehouse” in the Hollywood Hills, previously owned by Heath Ledger, from TV presenter Ellen DeGeneres. Josh considers himself a fan of his famous colleague, who died in 2008.
The actor gains strength for filming by listening to music. Preference is given to Jeff Buckley, Bob Marley and Led Zeppelin, but in general I like the whole variety of genres, from rock to dance and from soul to hip-hop.
Josh Hutcherson in The Hunger Games
But real world fame came to Josh after the film “The Hunger Games,” based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. The trilogy of books became so popular that in 2011 it was decided to film it. Along with Hutcherson, the film stars Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson and many other stars. Josh met Jennifer Lawrence only on the set, and despite the fact that they play lovers on camera, in real life the actors struck up a strong friendship.
Josh Hutcherson now
Currently, Josh is busy producing and filming the science-fiction film “Future Man”, where he plays the main role - a janitor at a research center who at night turns into a fanatical gamer, easily passing difficult levels and degrees of protection. One day, the heroes of the “video shooter” materialize and turn to the guy with a request to protect the Earth from a hostile alien race.
Embed from Getty Images Sarah Gilbert and Josh Hutcherson in 2019
In the spring of 2019, it became known that season 3 would be the last for the series. The streaming service Hulu, which is releasing the film, did not report the reasons for this decision. However, insiders learned that the co-author of the action film, Seth Rogen, terminated his contract with Sony, which is producing “Future Man.” The remaining members of the film crew apparently considered further work inappropriate.
In the thriller “Heat” (“Burn”), Hutcherson plays a gas station robber. The appearance of a guy at a crime scene plays into the hands of one of the cashiers, who is jealous of a young colleague, and the main character becomes an instrument of revenge for the offended woman.
Filmography
- 2002 — “Ambulance”
- 2003 — “Firing Line”
- 2004 — “Eddie’s Father”
- 2005 — “Little Manhattan”
- 2007 — “Bridge to Terabithia”
- 2008 — “Journey to the Center of the Earth”
- 2010 — “The Kids Are Alright”
- 2012 — “Carmel”
- 2012 — “The Hunger Games”
- 2014 — “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Part 1"
- 2015 — “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Part 2"
- 2017 — “Unfortunate Creator”
- 2017 — “Kill for a like”
- 2017-2019 — “Man of the Future”
- 2019 — “Burn”
