Interview: Josh Andrés Rivera Talks How He Would Win The Hunger Games & Starring In ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’

Today, November 17, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes hits theaters, and we got the chance to hear from one of the stars of the movie, Josh Andrés Rivera.

During the chat, Rivera talked playing Sejanus, working alongside his costar, Tom Blyth,

On whether he was a fan of the books or movies prior to landing the role: “I read the first book when I was younger, and I got really into the movies. I’m a pretty big fan. I did a quiz of it, like, last week, and I did really bad though. I guess I didn’t retain, like, a crazy amount from the original, but I really liked them.”

On his character Sejanus: “Something I really, really liked about him, and that definitely drew me in when we started filming too was the amount of friction he has with so many of the characters. As far as portraying something goes. That just tends to be, like, the more fun thing to do, and having a lot of people disagree with you and try to convince everyone that you’re right. A lot of times, just as an actor, it’s really fun. His overall belief system and how that contrasted the world that he was in was really yummy.”

On his first meeting with Tom Blyth: “I went to say hi to Francis [Lawrence] because I don’t think I had met in person. And Tom was just getting done with a meeting, as well. It was kind of quick. But we did have the luxury of sort of hanging out a lot during preproduction. It was kind of nice. We had the real luxury of kind of having that chemistry already be there a bit when we first had to film Because the first scene we shot actually was when Corio has to rescue Sejanus in the arena, which if you remember,it’s quite vulnerable and intense. And to have that be your first day is a bit intimidating. But it was definitely really nice that we had the luxury to kind of get to know each other beforehand, ’cause I think that manifested a good amount, personally.”

On what music helped prepare him for playing Sejanus: “I listened to a lot of Silk Sonic. I don’t know that it got me into character, but I really liked that album. It’s just really good. Honestly, anything that puts me in kind of a good mood. I don’t like listening to music that makes me sad. So, yeah, Silk Sonic. That’s my answer.”

On his own personal strategy to win The Hunger Games: “I would probably try to make friends with the strong boys. You know, and just see how far I can coast under their shoulders before they backstab me eventually.  But you know, we’ll worry about that when we get there”.

Who has already seen the movie? What did you think?

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity