And Brutus makes four. In a week filled with Hunger Games casting news, Lionsgate has released the name of the latest actor to join the cast of the The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, pegging Bruno Gunn as the former games victor who volunteers to go back to the Arena and hunt for blood.
The sequel sends previous game victors Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark on a “Victor’s Tour” of Panem’s 12 districts, during which Katniss notices the birth of a rebellion and President Snow announces the 75th Annual Hunger Games. However, these Games will bring new dangers and unexpected challenges that will drag Katniss and Peeta back to the Arena and test everything they know about themselves and each other.
Like Meta Golding (who was cast yesterday as his fellow District 2 victor Enobaria), Gunn is a bit of an unknown to most audiences. He’s played small roles as police officers, military types, and prison guards before in Bad Teacher, NCIS: Los Angeles, Edgar Floats, Medium, and Prison Break so he knows how to look and act like the tough guy.
But just like Golding’s role, this could be a break for him. It looks like it’s one of his first big roles, as Brutus is one of the bigger antagonists in this sequel. His name mirrors his brutality and physical strength perfectly and he is the one Katniss finds herself having to look out for the most during Catching Fire. He is known for volunteering for the Games not once but twice and once introduced in the book, gets along well with Peeta and tries for an alliance with Katniss.
It’s likely that he and Enobaria mentored previous tributes Cato and Clove (characters from the first book/movie). More than that, Brutus factors in heavily into the climactic scene at the end of the story as well and will be one to watch with his skills with a spear and his ability to think quickly on his feet. He’s one of the more dangerous characters in the sequel overall, making this a great role for anyone to play. On a side note, this also makes Finnick Odair, the most popularly discussed character for the sequel, one of the last major roles to confirmed so be sure to keep an eye out here for more news.
Along with Gunn and Golding, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth return to star opposite newcomers Amanda Plummer, Jena Malone and Lynn Cohen. Michael Arndt is in talks to pen the script for director Francis Lawrence.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire hits theaters on November 22nd, 2013.