Jennifer Lawrence Claims ‘Nobody Had Ever Put A Woman In The Lead Of An Action Movie’ Before ‘Hunger Games’ – There’s Just One Problem With That

Jennifer Lawrence said that before “Hunger Games,” no one “had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie.” But there’s just one problem with that. It’s not true.

During Variety’s Actors on Actors interview, the 32-year-old actress claimed she was the first woman ever to be cast in the lead role of an action film when she landed the part of Katniss Everdeen in the 2012 hit dystopian movie.

“I remember when I was doing ‘Hunger Games,’ nobody had ever put a woman in the lead of an action movie because it wouldn’t work — because we were told girls and boys can both identify with a male lead, but boys cannot identify with a female lead,” Lawrence claimed.

Lawrence spoke with fellow actress Viola Davis, who did not push back against the claim.

“It just makes me so happy every single time I see a movie come out that just blows through every one of those beliefs, and proves that it is just a lie to keep certain people out of the movies,” Lawrence added. “To keep certain people in the same positions that they’ve always been in.”

For as far back as the 1980s, many women have landed action hero lead roles, such as sci-fi action heroes like Linda Hamilton in the monster 1984 hit “The Terminator,” and Sigourney Weaver in “Aliens” in 1986.

There were also female action stars like Bridget Fonda in 1993’s “Point of No Return,” and Geena Davis in “The Long Kiss Goodnight” in 1996. Not to mention actresses such as Angelina Jolie in 2001’s “Lara Craft: Tomb Raider,” Uma Thurman in “Kill Bill: Volume 1” in 2003, and Milla Jovovich in “Resident Evil” that same year.

At one point in the interview, Lawrence also discussed how her career has changed since becoming a mother while making her new movie “Causeway.”

“I made the movie right before I got married,” the actress shared. “And then we had the pandemic. Two years later, I’m pregnant, we go back, and we make the rest of it. It was the scariest thing in the entire world to think about making a family. What if I f*** up? What if I can’t do it? And I was so scared that I would f*** it up. And it was so interesting to make a movie where I’m feeling so scared and feeling this mirrored in Lynsey.”

“Every day of being a mom, I feel awful. I feel guilty,” she added. “I’m playing with him and I’m like, ‘Is this what he wants to be doing? Should we be outside? We’re outside. What if he’s cold? What if he’s going to get sick? Should we be inside? Is this enough? Is this developing your brain enough?”

Related: Ellen DeGeneres Appears To Let Slip The Sex Of Jennifer Lawrence’s Three-Month Old Child