Jennifer Lawrence accidentally took Ambien right before Philip Seymour Hoffman dance scene in “Hunger Games”
- - Jennifer Lawrence accidentally took Ambien right before Philip Seymour Hoffman dance scene in “Hunger Games”
Shania RussellDecember 26, 2025 at 4:00 AM
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Lionsgate
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jennifer Lawrence in 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'
Jennifer Lawrence hasn't had the best luck when it comes to sleeping pills.
The actress has revealed that she accidentally took the wrong pill not once, but twice while working on some pretty high-profile movies.
"You and I are both obsessive about sleep when we're working — like counting the hours," Lawrence said while reuniting with her Don't Look Up costar Leonardo DiCaprio for Variety and CNN's "Actors on Actors" series. "When I did Red Sparrow, I took an Adderall instead of a sleeping pill, and then I didn't sleep all night."
The disastrous night left Lawrence feeling anxious on set. "I was taking hot showers in a panic. I am not somebody who can function without sleep," she explained. "And then I had to say the phrase 'Senate Armed Services Committee' in a Russian accent. That sucked."
Jim Spellman/WireImage
Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence, director Francis Lawrence, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Stanley Tucci attend the "Hunger Games: Catching Fire" New York premiere in 2013
The other instance occurred several years before, while Lawrence was shooting The Hunger Games: Catching Fire with a star-studded cast that included Woody Harrelson, Josh Hutcherson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and a very annoyed Elizabeth Banks.
"I also once took an Ambien in the morning, thinking it was something else," Lawrence told DiCaprio.
"Wow," he replied. "Those are key screwups."
She continued, "It was a dance scene with Philip Seymour Hoffman on the second Hunger Games movie. I was hallucinating."
Murray Close/Lionsgate Jennifer Lawrence as 'Katniss Everdeen' in 'The Hunger Games'
When DiCaprio pointed out that Ambien "almost shuts off a certain part of your brain," Lawrence quickly agreed, noting that it "certainly" messed with her ability to remember her lines.
"Elizabeth Banks got really annoyed with me," she said. "Maybe she didn’t know that I was on an Ambien, but I kept asking the director, 'Wait, and what does this mean? What does this mean? And what does that mean?' And she just threw her sides and said, 'Fine, let's just keep talking about it.'"
Catching Fire marked Hoffman's entry into the Hunger Games franchise, with the legendary actor joining the fray as rebellious games master Plutarch Heavensbee. He was shooting the final two films, Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2, back-to-back when he died in 2014 at the age of 46.
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Lawrence, who starred as Katniss Everdeen in the original five Hunger Games movies, is reportedly on the verge of making her grand return to the franchise in next year's Sunrise on the Reaping. The Panem-set prequel will see her reunite with Hutcherson, Harrelson, and franchise director Francis Lawrence, who helmed four of the five Hunger Games movies in addition to 2023's prequel Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
