Hunter Schafer Explains Why ‘Hunger Games’ Role Was a ‘Challenge’ Compared to ‘Euphoria’ (Exclusive)

Hunter Schafer is explaining why she found her role in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes to be more of “a challenge” than her role in Euphoria. 

Talking with ET from the red carpet of the New York City premiere, the model turned actress, 24, said her role in the “Hunger Games” prequel is the first “character piece” she has done that is a real departure from her own life and experiences.

In the film, Schafer plays Tigris, the cousin and companion of ruthless Panem President Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth. 

“Tigris kind of feels like the first character piece I’ve really done that’s not like a teenage girl who is kind of like one step away from who I am,” she said. “It was like a challenge for me.” 

“I’m still new to acting,” Schafer, whose first on-screen role was playing Jules Vaughn in Euphoria, said. 

On Wednesday, Schafer appeared in a stunning Marni dress with flowers protruding from the fabric to walk the carpet for the event. The dress, she said, felt like a nod to her character — a fashion designer and seamstress in the fictional world of Panem.

“I feel like it was really Tigris if she did some drugs and then had a heyday in her studio,” she joked with ET, adding that she would not be able to watch the film in the dress but that she planned to change and go to dinner instead. 

“It’s our last carpet so I wanted to do something fun,” Schafer said of choosing the gorgeous but not-so-comfortable look. 

As for what it meant for her to step into the world of “The Hunger Games,” the Euphoria actress said she still is pinching herself at getting the chance to be in the film after being a lover of the original trilogy when she was younger. 

“I was a huge fan when I was in middle school… to the point where I was like doing fan art and I had the Mockingjay pin,” Schafer said. “It means the world to me that I got to kind of contribute in some way,” she told ET of her role. 

Schafer will have a bit of a pause before jumping back into the world of Euphoria for season three of the hit HBO drama. 

In early November at a content showcase, HBO officials confirmed that the next installment of the coming-of-age drama won’t grace screens until 2025 but that production for season 3 will begin in 2024.

In the meantime, the actress may be able to channel her energy into being cast in the upcoming live-action Zelda film, which ET asked her about on the red carpet of the L.A. premiere for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. 

“I mean, yeah! Obviously. That would be so cool,” Schafer said about fans casting her in the titular role. “I’ve seen another wave of the fan cast and everything, which is just really sweet. I’m honored that they even think of me for that.”

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