Jennifer Lawrence nearly passed on Hunger Games

Actress nearly turned down the role that's made her one of Hollywood's biggesr stars

Jennifer Lawrence has revealed she spent three days deciding to turn down the role of Hunger Games hero Katniss Everdeen, before eventually taking the role, as she wanted to remain in smaller independent films.

In an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where her comic drama Silver Linings Playbook premiered, Jennifer revealed: 'Just saying yes to this one thing could completely change my life, and I don't know if it's going to be for the better.'

PICS: JENNIFER LAWRENCE FOR MARIE CLAIRE

The actress, who starts filming the next instalment of the hit movie franchise today, had already tasted success having appeared in X-Men: First Class and Winter's Bone (which earned her an Academy Awards nomination) but revealed it was her mum that persuaded her to take on the big budget film.

'She was like, "You're being a hypocrite, because you always say you don't care about the size of the movies." Because when I was doing indies, everybody was always like, "Why don't you ever do a studio?" I'd say, "Because I don't care about the size of the movie. I care about the story," Lawrence said.

'And my mom was like, "Now you have a story you like, and you're not going to do it because of the size."'

She added: 'The truth was, in the bottom of my heart, I wanted to do it. I wanted to play this character. I was scared of the aftermath, but you can't say no to things because you're scared. You just have to go for it.'

The 22-year-old also stars in the horror flick House at the End of the Street which opens at the end of the month, but is trying to fit in smaller films in-between filming Hunger Games and X-Men sequels.

She is currently starring as a young widow in Silver Linings Playbook opposite Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.

Was Jennifer Lawrence the right choice for the Hunger Games movies? Let us know in the comments box below...

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