Sam Claflin Talks his Audition, the Sugar Cube Scene, and More

Sam Claflin originally thought of himself as an unlikely candidate to play Finnick Odair. While promoting “Snow White and the Huntsman” in L.A., the British actor’s agent had him read for the part of our favorite District 4 fisherman.

“Finnick is this tanned, green-eyed, sex god,” said Claflin. “I’m thinking I’m brunette, I have loads of stubble, at the time I was by no means in shape. This guy walked in just after my audition who looked like Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise. Yeah, I’m not going to get this.”

Luckily, producer Nina Jacobson was looking for much more than a pretty face and caught a glimpse of something distinctly Finnick-y in Sam Claflin.

“Sometimes you get someone with the swagger but not the soulfulness or the other way around,” she told EW. “Sam had both. He is such a sweet, sweet fellow.”

Still, Claflin underwent quite the transformation to become Catching Fire‘s flirty trident-wielder, consuming not much beyond chicken and asparagus.

“It’s depressing,” he admitted. “I just want a burger and beer.”

He also had his hair dyed and went through several sessions of spray-tanning to get that classic bronze skin found in District 4.

“Look at the tanlines on my fingers!” the 26-year-old said. “I’m very English. I’m white. I mean I’m so pale. With spray tans they start peeling and start getting really dirty looking. It’s kind of lucky for the arena because I’m dirty a lot of the time but it’s not great with my shirt off at the moment.”

As for the sugar cube scene many think will make or break Sam Claflin’s performance, he says he won’t be quite as exposed as Finnick was in the book.

“They did have to tone it down from what it is in the book because they can’t make it too graphic if you know what I’m saying,” he said. “Because it was just a knot covering his, basically, you know what I’m saying! I was definitely prepared to do anything. But the costumer said ‘Well we can’t have you in nothing’ so I’m kind of covered up.”

Despite those somewhat comforting changes, Sam definitely felt pressured to nail the scene.

“It was the scariest moment of my life,” Claflin admitted. “I’m on Twitter and so many people have been like ‘Don’t mess this up, or we will kill you.’”

Besides taking away many wonderful memories from the “Catching Fire” set, Claflin is considering keeping a little memento to remember his role in the “Hunger Games” franchise.

“I kept my armor from my first role playing a knight and my mum bought a mannequin for it, so part of me wants to get the wet suit so she can have mannequins all over the house,” remarked Claflin. “Though I don’t know what my fiancée will think about the décor in our house.”

It was nice to finally hear from someone regarding why they cast Sam Claflin as Finnick. It sounds like he can bring several aspects of Finnick’s personality to the table, which I’m excited to see. And it seems like he really wants to please the fans.

So, what do you think about Sam Claflin now that you’ve seen those official photos from “Catching Fire?” Tell us in comments!

[Source: Entertainment Weekly]

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Category: Finnick Odair, Sam Claflin