Jennifer Lawrence Was MIA Filming The Hunger Games NSFW Elevator Scene

The Hunger Games films use a lot of movie magic — even when you thought there were no special effects. On the red carpet of the new Hunger Games prequel, Jena Malone, who played Johanna in the original series, told Variety about filming her iconic NSFW elevator scene, revealing that Jennifer Lawrence actually wasn’t present on set.

In the first Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire, Johanna introduces herself by entering a hotel elevator with Katniss (Lawrence), Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), and Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), and stripping down to absolutely nothing while complaining about her Hunger Games stylist.

Needless to say, the District 12 trio were riveted, albeit all for different reasons. However, Lawrence’s stunned facial expressions were shot separately.

Why Lawrence Wasn’t There

“The scenes that are fun are never fun to do — Jen was sick that day, so I ended up doing it without Jen, and so there wasn’t a lot of people in the elevator,” she said. “So I think we were just winging it and trying to get as much as we could get, because it was [shot] in a real hotel.”

“That’s the magic of filmmaking,” she added. “You only need a few seconds to really create something that lasts.”

Filming The Iconic Nude Scene

However, aside from Lawrence’s presence, nothing in that scene was faked. In a 2013 interview on Live with Kelly and Michael, Malone revealed that she actually went fully nude during the infamous scene, which was shot in a real hotel just as the film depicted.

“Any time there’s nudity, it’s never that sexy to begin with, for sure,” she recalled. “It’s always a little awkward. I mean, we were actually shooting in a real hotel and a real elevator and so they couldn’t really shut down the entire hotel. It’s like 49 floors, a glass elevator, everybody can see in. It’s kind of a crazy thing.”

At the time, Malone said that Lawrence, Hutcheron, and Harrelson “were so supportive” and “good friends,” but she still couldn’t help but break character and laugh at the absurdity of it all when real people noticed what was happening.

“I’m about to leave the elevator and the door’s open and there is some guy that works at the hotel carrying like a coffee cup holder,” she said.

“And his mouth is just like agape and I’m staring at him trying to be in character and I just fall out of frame laughing. I couldn’t take it, literally.”