Actress Rachel Zegler recently revealed that she initially turned down her role in ‘The Hunger Games’ prequel, ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’. This was over concerns about spending more time away from family and friends. However, director Francis Lawrence revealed that Zegler changed her mind after he cast her boyfriend, Josh Andrés Rivera in the film. Lawrence also promised to bring Zegler’s boyfriend and family to Poland, where the film was shooting, in an effort to persuade her. Zegler herself had previously expressed regret for declining the role. “I had just gotten to London and I wanted to disappear because I was so far away from home for the first time ever. And I was away from everybody that I knew and loved, and I said no”, Rachel Zegler said on the ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast.
