Entertainment Weekly seems to have the upper hand on presenting official first glances at The Hunger Games actors in character. We’ve already seen Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, and now EW brings us Liam Hemsworth as Gale and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta. Kaiser, CB and I were discussing this cover over email, and the general consensus is that Hemsworth looks nothing like himself here. Kaiser also points out that Hemsworth probably lost some weight for the role, and CB thinks that the angle of the photo might have something to do with it, but I’m also leaning towards a lot of stage makeup and a heavy-handed Photoshop artist. Maybe the absence of facial hair matters too? I don’t know.

As far as this first look at the leading men of The Hunger Games goes, I’ve got to admit being slightly underwhelmed. Based upon aesthetics alone, Katniss would have absolutely no trouble tossing Gale over for the strapping Peeta. Of course, it makes sense that a baker’s son would spend his days lifting heavy sacks of flour and also end up with enough nourishment to fill out those guns too. Gale, however, is sadly lacking here. Yes, he is the one responsible for feeding his family, but the book makes it rather clear that he and Katniss’ unparalleled hunting and trapping skills do keep them afloat, so Gale shouldn’t look quite that skinny, right? Perhaps I was just expecting him to have a bit more stature. If this EW cover accurely depicts the male eye candy of the movie, I will probably hold out for the Lenny Kravitz cover for some real sex appeal, but EW does have some words from Liam and Josh as well:

Two months ago, Entertainment Weekly revealed the first images of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, the teenage hero of The Hunger Games, based on Suzanne Collins’ blistering dystopian trilogy about children forced to fight to the death on national TV (and due out next March). In this week’s cover story, we introduce you to the devoted young men who fight for her.

We sat down wth Josh Hutcherson, the 18-year-old actor whom director Gary Ross fought hard to cast as the deeply decent Peeta Mellark, at a cozy diner in Asheville, N.C., where The Hunger Games shoot was mid-way through filming. His hair was dyed blonde; his newly pumped-up biceps could believably belong to that of a baker’s son. And while Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) understands fans’ hand-wringing online, he’s here to assure you that Lawrence will not in fact tower over him on screen. “Jennifer’s not two feet taller than me!” he says with his easy laugh. “If anything, maybe she’s a half inch taller.” And Ross assures devotees of the books that 21-year-old Liam Hemsworth, who’ll play Katniss’ righteous childhood confidante Gale, is more than just some Australian beefcake who starred in Miley Cyrus’ last movie. “On first glance he’s such a hunk that it’s easy to just sort of ascribe a hunk-like simplicity to him,” says the director. “But this is a phenomenally subtle actor.”

Although Peeta and Gale circle each other warily throughout the series, it turns out that Hutcherson and Hemsworth bonded hard during their six weeks together on set. So much so that Hutcherson brought Hemsworth along on a weekend visit to his hometown in Kentucky to relax with his family and sample his grandmother’s famous fried chicken. “I think it’s going to blow people’s minds when they see that Peeta and Gale are actually best friends in real life,” says Hutcherson.

[From EW.com]

Hutcherson must be kidding about blowing our minds because it’s nothing new when actors become friends on set. He’s really young though, and I’m probably out of touch when it comes to youth slang these days. However, it’s nice to see a guy with some modicum of talent move up from indie film to a studio pic, and (again, if the EW cover is an accurate portrayal) I think that Hutcherson looks better as a blonde. By the way, he’s dating Vanessa Hudgens, and they attended Coachella together. Don’t hold that against him.

Here’s a reminder of what Liam Hemsworth usually looks like. So different!

Photos courtesy of Popwatch and Fame