Who plays caesar flickerman in the hunger games

Caesar Flickerman is played by a set of gleaming capped teeth wearing Stanley Tucci.

This is by design. There's no game-show host so phony, no talk-show diva so over-the-top, no television personality so perfectly able to distract people from the real problem as Flickerman.

Caesar's a combination of Oprah Winfrey, Howard Cosell, and Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister who perfected the phrase "lie big and lie often". Caesar's the guy who comes on TV to make sure everyone hears that lie from a friendly guy.

We rarely see Caesar when there aren't cameras on him, so it's hard to tell who the real guy is. But watch how his smile rises and falls when he first steps into the spotlight: how fake and plastic it looks. He speaks like a commercial spokesman, and all of his emotions are exaggerated for the camera.

That's how he is all the time. There's nothing authentic or genuine about him. He's a living mannequin designed to be propped up in front of the camera, give the ruling authority someone friendly and smiling to get the masses to turn off their brains. He'll basically parrot every little bit of propaganda placed in front of his telegenic nose.

"But he seems like such a nice guy!" we can hear some people saying. And sure, he seems like a semi-decent sort… no worse than, say, Effie for example.

But it's precisely because he seems so nice that makes him so dangerous. Think about it: this is a guy who interviews 24 young people as if they were the biggest stars in the world, never mentioning that 23 of them are going to be killed in the next few days.

And oh yeah, who's going to be doing the play-by-play on all of that? Right. This grinning weasel.

CAESAR: And what did you say to her in the end?KATNISS: I told her that I would try to win. That I would try to win for her.

CAESAR: Of course you did. And try you will.

That's cold-blooded, man.

But that's Caesar's job. Not only must he to the Tributes—making them feel special and loved as they're dolled up before their near-certain executions—but he sets the whole of Panem at ease by assuring them that this is all necessary and normal. "Forget how hungry you are or how few rights you have. Just be sure to root for your favorite Tribute as they battle each other to the death!" It's a slick trick and Caesar pulls it off with the best: an object demonstration of why the nice man on television may not be so nice after all.

Not that there's anyone in the real world who does the same thing…

The odds were in their favor! While some stars fall flat after their big breaks, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth have moved on from the Hunger Games franchise with success.

Based on author Suzanne Collins’ young adult books of the same name, 2012’s The Hunger Games, 2013’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, 2014’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 and 2015’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2 blew up at the box office and became a constant topic of conversation in pop culture. The films follow a group of teens forced to battle for their lives in a dystopian world.

Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen), Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark), Hemsworth (Gale Hawthorne), Woody Harrelson (Haymitch Abernathy), Elizabeth Banks (Effie Trinket), Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman) and Donald Sutherland (President Snow) made up the star-studded cast.

The costars quickly formed close bonds, especially the main trio. “The truth is, it was literally what everyone saw in all of our interviews together,” Hutcherson exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2020 of their friendship. “It was all of us being ridiculous children together, horsing around. I don’t know how we got any work done ever. I’m surprised the movies are good.”

The actor revealed that their connection remains, as they keep “in contact pretty closely” years after the franchise wrapped filming. “We always get together and see each other when we’re in the same place,” he explained. “There’s not a Hunger Games group chat. We’ve got a couple email threads that a few of us are on but we don’t have a group chat. I don’t think Woody has a cell phone so that makes it a little hard.”

Hutcherson, who “would love to play Peeta again” if given the chance, teased fans with a prediction about where his character would be in the present day. “It’s funny. ‘Cause we actually spitballed about [where the characters would end up] on set one day,” he recalled. “We were sort of talking about like … the Hunger Games and Peeta and Katniss are older and they have a kid and then the movie ends, but then what if we pick up the story and it’s like 10 years later and there’s a new rebellion that has to happen or something like that ended up.”

He added: “I’d like to hope and think that they are living happily and that the world is equal and lovely. But history is doomed to repeat itself. So I feel like there might be some more unrest that would come along.”

Scroll down to see where the cast of The Hunger Games is today.

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Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen)

Lawrence quickly became one of the most sought-after dramatic actresses in Hollywood, thanks to roles in films such as Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and Joy. She solidified her status when she won an Oscar for Best Actress in 2013. She has since starred in Mother!, Passengers, X-Men: Apocalypse and Red Sparrow.  

The actress married art gallerist Cooke Maroney in October 2019. News broke in September 2021 that she was expecting their first child. They reportedly welcomed the baby in February 2022.

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Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark)

The former child star stayed busy with roles on Future Man, Red Dawn, The Disaster Artist and Ultraman. He also works as a producer. 

Hutcherson has been dating his Escobar: Paradise Lost costar Claudia Traisac since 2013.

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Liam Hemsworth (Gale Hawthorne)

The Australia native is a certified movie star. He has appeared in Isn’t It Romantic, Independence Day: Resurgence, The Dressmaker, Most Dangerous Game and Paranoia.  

Hemsworth married his The Last Song costar Miley Cyrus in December 2018. However, they announced their separation less than eight months later. The two finalized their divorce in February 2020. The actor began dating model Gabriella Brooks in late 2019. Us confirmed in August 2022 that they had called it quits after more than two years.

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Woody Harrelson (Haymitch Abernathy)

Harrelson has had buzzworthy roles on True Detective, Now You See Me, LBJ, The Edge of Seventeen, Venom, Midway, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Saturday Night Live. He racked up Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations too.

The actor has been married to Laura Louie since 2008. They share three daughters: Deni, Zoe and Makani.

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Elizabeth Banks (Effie Trinket)

Banks is a multihyphenate these days as she acts in, writes, directs and produces her own projects. Her recent notable credits include Charlie’s Angels, Pitch Perfect 3, Power Rangers, Mrs. America and Press Your Luck. 

The actress married husband Max Handelman in 2003. The couple are parents of two sons: Felix and Magnus.

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Willow Shields (Primrose Everdeen)

Shields has continued acting on Spinning Out, The Unsettling, Into the Rainbow and Woodstock or Bust. She also competed on season 20 of Dancing With the Stars in 2015, becoming the youngest contestant ever at age 14.

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Donald Sutherland (President Snow)

The actor starred in Ad Astra, Crossing Lines, Milton’s Secret, Ice, Trust and The Undoing. 

Sutherland tied the knot with Francine Racette in 1972. He is a father of five: twins Kiefer and Rachel as well as sons Rossif, Angus and Roeg.

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Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman)

Tucci has worked in basically every genre with roles in Beauty and the Beast, Feud: Bette and Joan, Limetown, BoJack Horseman and A Private War. 

The actor married Felicity Blunt in 2012. They share son Matteo and daughter Emilia. He is also the father of twins Nicolo and Isabel and daughter Camilla from his first marriage to the late Kate Tucci.

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Lenny Kravitz (Cinna)

Kravitz appeared on Better Things and Star after The Hunger Games. He has also released albums titled Strut and Raise Vibration.

The musician, who has been in relationships with Lisa Bonet, Nicole Kidman, Adriana Lima and Vanessa Paradis in the past, is the father of daughter Zoë Kravitz, whom he shares with Bonet.

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