The Photo-Op Jennifer Lawrence Asked Rachel Zegler For When They First Met

Rachel Zegler, the rising star taking Hollywood by storm, opened up about sharing a hilarious moment with her "Hunger Games" franchise sister, Jennifer Lawrence. Zegler is leading the prequel film for the dystopian series that was originally helmed by Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. Zegler portrays lead Lucy Baird in the latest film, "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes."

While attending Paris Fashion Week's Dior show, Zegler finally crossed paths with Lawrence — and of course, the charismatic actor made sure it was a memorable moment. She referred to a viral clip of her and Lawrence taking pictures after the fashion week show, in which Lawrence can be seen making a joke that sent Zegler into a fit of laughter. The young star recounted the moment on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," confessing to some initial nerves before approaching the star. However, any worries quickly disappeared as the young actor found Lawrence to be a down-to-earth personality. 

The first "Hunger Games" film released in 2012 blew audiences away, and its new fanbase propelled Lawrence into Hollywood royalty. The subsequent three films in the series each pushed the franchise to surpass the $2 billion mark in box office earnings (per Collider). So for a newcomer like Zegler, nabbing a lead role in the iconic series is no light feat — and it turns out that she has Lawrence's full support.

Rachel Zegler has become the newest darling of Hollywood, and her origin story is truly a fairytale. She first gained attention after securing the lead role in Steven Spielberg's 2021 adaptation of "West Side Story." She landed the part after responding to an open casting call while still in high school and was selected out of over 30,000 fellow actors (via Parade). Since then, she has landed roles in "Shazam!," Disney's upcoming live-action "Snow White," and of course the latest "Hunger Games" installment. 

Jennifer Lawrence, who supports Zegler carrying the torch in "The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes," is also open to stepping back into the shoes of Katniss Everdeen (per Variety). Zegler revealed that in their viral photo op, Lawrence was actually jesting at the young star's takeover. "In that clip, [Jennifer is] actually saying, 'Let's do another photo where I'm strangling you and saying, 'You'll never take my part!” she recounted to Kelly Clarkson. "And that's exactly what I wanted from her."

The two not only bonded over "The Hunger Games" but their similar journeys and connections. "I had already filmed [The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes] when I had met her and we really just were able to bond over the fact that we know so many of the same people," Zegler told People. "Everyone who worked on our movies came over from the original trilogy to work on ours."

Rachel Zegler may be Hollywood's darling, but it hasn't been all smooth sailing. After all of the fuss over Disney's live-action "The Little Mermaid," it's no surprise that there was also drama surrounding the upcoming "Snow White" movie. Rachel Zegler was cast to portray the Disney princess, sparking trolls to claim that she wasn't "fair-skinned" enough. Zegler, who is of Polish and Colombian descent, stood resilient in reshaping the narrative around Snow White for a modern audience. "She's not going to be saved by the prince. And she's not going to be dreaming about true love," Zegler told Variety. "She's dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be."

In addition to complaints that the remake would veer too far from the original plot, audiences didn't like Zegler's own critique of the original movie. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was Disney's first feature film, released in 1937. Zegler brought attention to the film's seemingly outdated plot and called the prince that saves Snow White a stalker (per FOX). She also admitted to Entertainment Weekly that she had no interest in the classic Snow White film as a child. "I was scared of the original version. I think I watched it once and never picked it up again," she said. "I watched it for the first time in probably 16, 17 years when I was doing this film." Zegler later apologized for her comments after audiences called her out for appearing ungrateful for her role in the prestige film.