Comic Con 2012: Dayo Okeniyi and Amandla Stenberg talk The Hunger Games

Comic Con 2012: Dayo Okeniyi and Amandla Stenberg talk The Hunger Games
by Wilson Morales

July 18, 2012

During San Diego Comic Con, Blackfilm.com got a chance to talk to Dayo Okeniyi and Amandla Stenberg, two actors from blockbuster film The Hunger Games. They were at the convention to help promote the upcoming Blu-ray and DVD release of the film, which comes out on August 18.

Directed by Gary Ross, The Hunger Games, starring Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence, features an ensemble cast that includes Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, and Elizabeth Banks. The film also stars some of the industry’s brightest up and coming actors such as Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Jack Quaid, Dayo Okeniyi, and Amandla Stenberg.

The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy of books published by Scholastic that has already become a literary phenomenon with over 36.5 million copies in circulation. Set in the future, one male and one female from each of the twelve districts of the nation is forced to participate in the annual competition called The Hunger Games, which is broadcast live throughout the country for the entertainment of the Capitol’s wealthy residents.

Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) volunteers in her younger sister’s place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy when she’s pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Amandla Stenberg and Dayo Okeniyi play Rue and Thresh, the tributes from District 11 sent to fight in the titular games. While Okeniyi is a new face to American audiences, Stenberg was previously seen in the Zoe Saldana action thriller Colombiana.

Dayo Okeniyi and Amandla Stenberg