I’ll never forget when news broke thatLily Rabescored the role of Commander Lyme inThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay. I was a new fan courtesy ofAmerican Horror Story: Murder HouseandAsylum, and was thrilled to see someone super talented join one of my favorite film franchises. But then, about seven months later, news broke that Rabe had to drop out due to a previous commitment and thatGwendoline Christiewould be taking the role instead. Given that I was also a huge fan of theGame of Thronesbreakout, it was a solid swap right there, but still, one might wonder, what was so important that Rabe would pass on being part of one of the biggest film franchises at the time?
With her new Amazon seriesTell Me Your Secretsdue out on February 19, Rabe joined us for an episode ofCollider Ladies Nightand while running through her filmography, I had to ask about what happened withThe Hunger Games. She began:
“I’m so happy to talk about this. I was asked about that recently, because I think there was some stuff out at the time that was really not kind of accurate. It was so simple what happened, which was that I was doing ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ [for] [Shakespeare] in the Park with Hamish [Linklater] and that was something that because they plan, it takes time. It’s not like all of a sudden. So I think we had been planning it for however long, talking about it for probably a few years. And then it was happening and it was set. When I was cast in ‘The Hunger Games’, the dates worked with ‘Much Ado.'"
But, as happens with many film shoots, things changed withHunger Games. Rabe continued:
“I think I was gonna shoot it before we started rehearsal and for reasons that I can no longer remember that had absolutely nothing to do with me, but just to do with production, the dates pushed on ‘Hunger Games.’ And they pushed a few times. So at first we were still fine, then we were still fine and then they pushed to the point where it wasn’t even during our rehearsal period, it was actually during our performance period.”
Tickets to Shakespeare in the Park are mighty hot commodities. There are only so many performances each season and tickets are only given out on the day of the show. So that means anyone who wants to attend the free production will likely have to do some serious planning and prepare to wait in line for quite some time at the Delacorte Theater. That level of commitment is not something Rabe takes lightly.
“It’s why when it rains, we wait and we wait and we wait and we go on until the lightning is shutting it [down]. We will do it in the rain. You just do not want to miss a single one of those performances. They’re so precious. And the rehearsal period is quite short too. So the whole thing is really short. And there are no understudies. And even if I had had an understudy, you just don’t want to give one up, but there aren’t any. And it just got to the point where there was no way for me to do ‘The Hunger Games.'”
Yes, it is a big deal to score a role in a major film franchise, but that doesn’t necessarily mean an utter meltdown will ensue if such a conflict arises. In fact, Rabe stressed that theHunger Gamesteam was very understanding of her situation:
“It wasn’t even really a battle. It was just, ‘Oh, this no longer works out and I have made this commitment to do Much Ado.’ And ‘The Hunger Games’ side, they were all completely aware of it and they so understood my choice and were so supportive. So there was really no drama. The only sad thing was that I couldn’t do both, but it wasn’t a sort of, ‘Oh, which one do I do?’ Because one had been my prior commitment and everyone was totally aware of that. So it was unfortunate, but it just was what it was. When I couldn’t do both, I couldn’t do both.”
As much as I would have loved to see Rabe inThe Hunger Games, I very much respect the choice to stay loyal to that first commitment. But on top of that, sticking withMuch Adowas also making the choice to follow her heart:
“I remember reading something like, ‘There is no [way]! Who would ever choose doing a play?’ And I was like, ‘Well, but that was my commitment,’ and it was in my heart to play Beatrice with Hamish. And my god, I would have loved to be a part of ‘The Hunger Games’! I too am such a fan.”
If you’re looking for more from Rabe, we’ve already shared a clip from the Ladies Night conversation about her experience first joiningAmerican Horror Storyand what excites her most about Season 10 of the long-running show. ButAHSandMuch Adoonly make up a small portion of Rabe’s journey to her latest project, so be just to check back for the full Collider Ladies Night interview taking us all the way from Rabe’s time studying acting in school to headlining Amazon’sTell Me Your Secrets.
