Though the designer is described as a flamboyant man in the Suzanne Collins novel, Lenny says he wants to play the character more like fashion icons Yves Saint Laurent or Tom Ford.
- Mar 23, 2012
AceShowbiz - As the clock is ticking closer to the release date of the highly anticipated "The Hunger Games", Lenny Kravitz took some time to discuss his role as Cinna in the Gary Ross-directed movie. The singer-turned-actor opened up to MTV News that he will portray the kind-hearted designer as a "subdued" person despite the fact that the character is described as a flamboyant man in Suzanne Collins' novel.
"One of my first questions to Gary Ross was, 'How far do you want to go with this' and at the end of our conversation, we both agreed that it would be more interesting to make him more subdued, to play him more like Yves Saint Laurent or Tom Ford, more classic," Lenny said. "[Cinna] wears his waistcoats and his flats, and all his expression comes out in his creations. He's got his little bit of gold eye shadow, but yeah, he's pretty subdued."
During the chat, the father of young actress/model Zoe Kravitz also recalled how he first talked to Gary about playing Cinna. "How hard [did I go] after it? I was on the other end of the phone, that's about it," the Grammy winner stated.
"I wish I had a great, struggling story, but I was working on my album when Gary Ross called and said, 'I'd like you to do this movie, 'The Hunger Games' ', and so the first thing I had to ask was, 'What is 'Hunger Games'?' because I honestly did not know," Lenny recalled. "He told me and I downloaded the book that night, read it, called him back promptly the next day and said, 'Thank you very much, I'll be there'."
Lenny said that Gary was interested to cast him after watching him starring in "Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire". He said, "He liked the performance in 'Precious' and thought that Nurse John and Cinna shared some similar qualities as far as being nurturing characters, and that sold him. So I was very fortunate."
In "The Hunger Games", Cinna is Katniss Everdeen's stylist who is responsible for her public appearance as she takes part in Panem's annual deadly games. Katniss herself is a female tribute from District 12 who volunteers to join the live-televised event to replace her sister Prim.
Pitted against highly-trained competitors who have prepared for these games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy to survive in the game and go back home to District 12 alive.
To open wide in the U.S. on March 23, "The Hunger Games" stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley and Donald Sutherland join her in the cast ensemble.
