The Hunger Games franchise returned to the big screen this past weekend to a victorious debut weekend at the box office and a lot of love from audiences. Just ahead of the movie hitting theaters, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cast came together to reflect on their memories on set. One story sticks out between Tom Blyth and Josh Andrés Rivera involving some life-saving peanut butter cookie-munching.
During The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Los Angeles press conference, which you can watch in full on CinemaBlend’s YouTube, Blyth and Rivera told a funny story about something that happened while they were filming the latest Hunger Games movie. Check out what they had to say:
Tom Blyth: “Towards the end of the shoot, we were filming this scene, actually, one of the earlier scenes in the movie, which is the Reaping Day scene, where all the students and mentors are gathered and then told that it’s the Reaping Day and that we’re being given mentees, basically. And in the scene originally, he was supposed to give me some cookies, ‘cause he realizes that Corio is hungry and that his family aren’t doing that well, even though they’re keeping up appearances. And Josh, every time went to give me, like, the little packet of cookies, and I’d put my hand out to reach them and it would feel really light. And I’d be like, okay, great. I’m supposed to, like… eat them in the scene. And I go to open it, and there’s no cookies left, ‘cause Josh has been eating them on set. And like, every time. And we must’ve done, like, 12 takes of this one bit of coverage.”
Josh Andrés Rivera: “It was a lot. And it was two cookies per. They were really good. They were peanut butter.”
Tom Blyth: “They were peanut butter, which actually, you were saving my life, cause I have, like, a mild peanut allergy, so maybe that’s what it was.”
Josh Andrés Rivera: “You’re welcome, Tom. I’m a little guardian angel, actually.”
As Blyth recalled, during one sequence in the film, Rivera was supposed to hand him a pack of cookies to signify Sejanus giving Snow some food to help him out, but when the actor gave him the packet, he had already eaten them. It was a funny moment on set for the actors, but looking back, Blyth is rather grateful he wasn’t given the cookies to eat. It turns out he is apparently allergic to peanuts, so he would not have enjoyed the side effects of those cookies.
Rivera joked he’s Blyth’s “little guardian angel,” even though it sounds like he didn’t actually know when he was eating them that he was accidentally saving his life. What a funny anecdote from the two Hunger Games stars! While talking about the making of the movie, the pair of actors also shared that they were the first two cast members to arrive on set in Berlin, Germany and ended up going to some movies and seeing a Leon Bridges concert together before cameras started rolling. The bonding time gave them time to get to know each other prior to playing mates at the Capitol.
During the Los Angeles press conference, the cast all shared what their weapon of choice would be in the Hunger Games, and Rachel Zegler spoke about whether she really sang on set. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is now playing in theaters.