Spotlight on actor Josh Hutcherson
The actor plays a gamer who must save the world in new sci-fi series Future Man
SERIES DEBUT Josh plays Josh Futturman, a janitor by day and top gamer by night whose life is turned upside down when he’s visited by mysterious strangers from the future who warn him the world’s in danger and he’s the only one who can save it. Needless to say, plenty of time travel and action ensue . . . The series is the brainchild of actor-writer Seth Rogen, who also produced it. Taking on a TV role was new for Josh, who’s known for his film work – in particular The Hunger Games series in which he played Peeta Mellark. “I didn’t know what TV felt like, but this just felt like a really hard movie. The scope and the scale of it was insane,” Josh (26) says. Unlike his character, the actor isn’t a gamer. “I don’t play a whole lot. I lost internet [connection] at my house about two years ago and still haven’t got it fixed.”
DESTINED TO ACT His mom, Michelle, a former flight attendant, says Josh was obsessed with acting from a young age but she thought it was “a phase he’d grow out of ”. At age nine he took matters into his own hands and contacted an acting agency he’d found through the Yellow Pages. A coach he got in touch with, impressed with his talent and determination, advised the family to move to Los Angeles – which they did a year later.
ON THE LOVE FRONT He’s been dating actress Claudia Traisac (25), whom he met on the set of the 2014 flick Escobar: Paradise Lost, for the past few years. He was previously linked to actresses Vanessa Hudgens, Victoria Justice and Lily Collins.
But Josh says he’s not rigid about his sexuality. “Maybe I could say right now I’m 100% straight. But who knows?” he told Out magazine a few years ago. “I think defining yourself as 100% anything is kind of closed-minded. I’ve met guys all the time that I’m like, ‘Damn, that’s a good-looking guy’.”
FUTURE PLANS The star is relaxed about what the future might bring. “Where my career goes, it goes,” he says, “and if people stop hiring me then I’ll find a way to stay happy and do something else I love. I want to produce and direct.”
With that in mind he’s already created a production company with his mom. But there’s been no lack of acting jobs – fans can catch him later this year in indie drama The Long Home and he also voices the lead in the animated flick Elliot the Littlest Reindeer.