Joseph Zada Says Playing Young Haymitch Left Him a Changed Man
Panem fans have spent months waiting for a deeper look at the newest chapter of the franchise, and the wait finally paid off this weekend. ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ has been steadily rolling out first looks and character teases ahead of its theatrical debut, building anticipation for a story that reaches back decades before Katniss Everdeen ever entered an arena. The film follows a teenage Haymitch Abernathy long before he became the cynical mentor moviegoers first met in the original saga.
That anticipation reached a new peak on July 4, a date the franchise treats as sacred since it doubles as both Reaping Day and Haymitch’s birthday in the story’s canon. Lionsgate marked the occasion with a “Meet Haymitch” featurette that gave fans their closest look yet at Joseph Zada’s performance as the future Games victor. The video weaves footage from the arena, Capitol interviews and behind the scenes production moments together with commentary from the cast and crew.
According to TheWrap, which shared the featurette, Zada opened up about the emotional weight of stepping into a role so closely tied to Woody Harrelson’s original performance. He called the entire experience “life-changing,” explaining that even small choices by his character carry consequences that ripple outward over time. It is a heavy statement for a young actor whose biggest previous credit was Prime Video’s ‘We Were Liars.’
Zada was not shy about the pressure of following in Harrelson’s footsteps either. “I’m such a fan of his work. It’s been intense being like Woody’s Haymitch,” Zada said in the featurette, according to Brit + Co, adding that sharing the same character with the veteran actor felt “special.” Director Francis Lawrence, who has helmed every ‘Hunger Games’ film since ‘Catching Fire,’ called Harrelson’s original portrayal of Haymitch “a very iconic portrayal of a character” in the same video.
The featurette also introduced new context around Haymitch’s world, including his younger brother Sid and his relationship with love interest Lenore Dove Baird, played by Whitney Peak. In one exchange from the promo, Lenore Dove asks Haymitch if he can imagine a world without a Reaping, to which he responds that he has never known a birthday without one. That grim detail underscores just how personal this particular Quarter Quell is for the character.
‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ is set roughly 24 years before Katniss volunteers for her sister Prim, and follows Haymitch as he is selected for the brutal Second Quarter Quell, which pits him against nearly double the usual number of tributes. The ensemble surrounding Zada includes Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Maya Hawke, Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close and Billy Porter. It is a stacked cast built to support a story fans have wanted answered since Suzanne Collins first published the novel.
With ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ landing in theaters on November 20, this featurette has given the fandom plenty to dissect ahead of release. Between Zada’s emotional comments and the glimpses of Haymitch’s life before the arena changed him forever, the pressure and the promise of this prequel feel equally real. Do you think Joseph Zada can carry the emotional weight Woody Harrelson built into Haymitch, or is that a birthday gift too big for anyone to unwrap?
