Jennifer Lawrence admits to drug ‘mishap’ during Hunger Games filming that annoyed co-star

For many of us, the Hunger Games books and film franchise were a huge part of our childhoods.

We were first introduced to Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, back in 2012 for the very first of the action-adventure flicks, which revolved around young contestants fighting each other to death, with the only survivor being crowned as the winner as part of a televised reality competition.

The all-star cast also included Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lenny Kravitz and Stanley Tucci.

There are currently five Hunger Games films out, with the sixth, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, set for a November 2026 release.

Of course, a lot went on behind the scenes when the cameras weren't rolling, with 35-year-old Lawrence admitting to a drug 'mishap' on set that annoyed one of her co-stars.

Speaking in yesterday's episode (17 December) of Variety and CNN’s Actors on Actors alongside her Don't Look Up co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, the Hollywood A-lister confessed that she once took an Ambien in the morning, 'thinking it was something else'.

"It was a dance scene with [the late] Philip Seymour Hoffman on the second Hunger Games movie," she said, referring to the Catching Fire instalment, which hit cinemas in 2013.

"I was hallucinating."

Jennifer Lawrence starred as protagonist Katniss Everdeen in the hit Hunger Games film franchise (Starz Entertainment)

Lawrence recalled having to remember her lines at the time and having no 'memorizational' skills while on the drug, a prescription sedative-hypnotic medication used for the short-term treatment of insomnia (sleep problems).

She continued: "Elizabeth Banks got really annoyed with me because maybe she didn’t know I was on an Ambien.

"But, I kept asking the director, 'And wait, what does this mean? Wait, and what does this mean? What does that mean?' She just threw her sides and was like, 'Fine, let’s just keep talking about it.'"

While it may have been quite the awkward mix-up at the time, Lawrence and 51-year-old DiCaprio both seemed to now find the ordeal quite humorous as they let out a laugh over the funny incident during the interview.

Lawrence recalled a blunder involving Ambien while filming the second Hunger Games movie (Starz Entertainment)

Believe it or not, this wasn't the only time such a blunder had happened to the actress.

"You and I are both obsessive about sleep when we’re working, like counting the hours," Lawrence told DiCaprio elsewhere in the chat.

"When I did Red Sparrow, I took an Adderall instead of a sleeping pill, and then I didn’t sleep all night. I was taking hot showers in a panic. I am not somebody who can function without sleep.

"And then I had to say the phrase 'Senate Armed Services Committee' in a Russian accent. That sucked."