‘I Was Hallucinating:’ That Time Jennifer Lawrence Accidentally Took An Ambien While Filming A Hunger Games Movie

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Jennifer Lawrence is celebrated for many films, some of which garnered Oscar attention, but she’s widely recognized for her role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games series. Appearing in all four movies helped launch her to mainstream fame. She’s also shared some funny stories from her career, including a memorable experience on the set of Catching Fire. She accidentally took a sleep aid before filming a scene with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and ended up “hallucinating” during the shoot.

When people rank the Hunger Games films, Catching Fire often appears near the top because it really broadened the scope of the world of Panem. In an interview with Leonardo DiCaprio for Variety and CNN’s Actors on Actors, Jennifer Lawrence discussed a difficult day on set, explaining it was caused by a medication error. She shared with DiCaprio:

I also once took an Ambien in the morning, thinking it was something else.

Ambien is a strong sleep medication, and it can cause unusual behavior if someone tries to stay awake after taking it. So, accidentally taking a dose when you’re the lead actor in a big movie is a really scary situation. Jennifer Lawrence experienced this firsthand and had a difficult day on set. She described the scene they were filming when it happened, saying:

I was hallucinating during a dance scene featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was a remarkably talented actor, so this story is quite unsettling. While filming the party scene in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, she not only had to perform dialogue with Hoffman, who played President Snow, but also share a dance with him and Josh Hutcherson (Peeta). She later told Leonardo DiCaprio how difficult it was, explaining that the effects of Ambien can significantly alter a person’s experience. She confirmed it was a major challenge, stating:

Well, certainly the memorization part of your brain.

Even though Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook in the same year Catching Fire came out, she was still learning a lot. One example was when she mistakenly took a sleeping pill in the morning instead of at bedtime.

During a conversation with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence shared that she struggled to learn and grasp a scene in Catching Fire, which caused some friction on set, especially with Elizabeth Banks, who played Effie Trinket. She explained that…

Elizabeth Banks became frustrated with me, possibly because she didn’t realize I was taking Ambien. I repeatedly asked the director to explain things, constantly saying, ‘What does this mean?’ and ‘What does that mean?’ She eventually got visibly annoyed and sarcastically suggested we continue discussing it.

Things didn’t seem to stay tense between Lawrence and Banks – they went on to film two more Hunger Games movies together. However, this day on set was difficult, taking place during a large scene with many extras and most of the main cast, including Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, and Elizabeth Banks.

When I watched the scene again, Lawrence did appear a bit tired, but it wasn’t obvious she was having such a difficult time during filming. It seems like she learned a lot from the experience and is now more cautious about how she describes her medications.

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2025-12-17 21:47