Warning: This post contains light spoilers from the 10th annual Hunger Games.
Josh Andres Rivera remembers the first time he stepped into the world of Panem.
There, the librarian would unwittingly manifest his role inThe Hunger GamesprequelBallad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Josh Andres Rivera and Tom Blyth in ‘Hunger Games’ prequel ‘Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’.Lionsgate
He gave meThe Hunger Gamesbook and was like, Read this.
Reading is fun, I promise, Rivera, now 28, recalls to EW.
And I read it and it was the first book I ever couldn’t put down.
Josh Andres Rivera in ‘West Side Story’.Niko Tavernise/20th Century Studios
He’s got a very big heart.
I actually had a really bad headache [that day], Rivera recalls of filming that intense sequence.
I was actually upset.
It’s not an acting exercise I recommend, but.
There’s a similar kind of inner turmoil there, Rivera says.
Working with Spielberg helped lay the groundwork for working with franchise directorFrancis Lawrence.
The intensity of the shoots were offset by cast bonding around Berlin, namely with Blyth.
We did karaoke with some of the other cast, Rivera says.
Everybody was really close.
I had a lot of fun.
So whats Riveras go-to karaoke song?
As a parting interview gift, he bursts into the chorus of The Middle by Jimmy Eat World.
I always like to do something just a little ironic.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesarrives in theaters Nov. 17.
You canbuy Entertainment Weekly’sThe Ultimate Guide to The Hunger Gameshere, or on newsstands.
