‘The Hunger Games’: Flora Li Thiemann on Her ‘Sassy’ Role in Prequel (Exclusive)

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes has been the top movie in the country for the last two weeks and features a cast that includes Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage and Viola Davis. But the film also includes actors and actresses who are on the rise, including Flora Li Thiemann, who recently appeared in the Prime Video series The Gryphon. PopCulture.com spoke to Thiemann about the film and her role of Livia Cardew. 

“It is just a small role, but we know the character from the book, like the novel already,” Thiemann told PopCulture. “She’s a member of the Capitol, a student in the Academy in Snow’s class. I think especially what I took from the book descriptions about Livia is that she is sassy and gives comments, is also making fun of Snow. Yeah, typical Capitol girls.”

Livia is one of the mentors for the 10th Hunger Games with Coriolanus Snow (Blyth). The film focuses on his relationship with Lucy Gray (Zegler) as she’s a tribute from District 12. The film also shows how Coriolanus became the man we see in the first three films who was played by Donald Sutherland. 

Thiemann also detailed how she landed the role. “I got a tape audition and I just shot something and I thought, ‘Okay, probably no one will even answer,’” she said. “Then I was super surprised when it actually worked and we had a little Zoom call. I think we had a German casting director, and she was the one casting me, this is why I landed the role.”

For Thiemann, working on The Hunger Games prequel is an experience she will never forget. “The cast was so amazing,” Thiemann said. “It was such a big experience with a lot of talented people, also so many internationals, which was really special to me. Meeting there and creating art together was really beautiful. Also, because obviously I already know about the universe of The Hunger Games since I’m a child. It was super exciting to see locations, costumes, props, everything. Everyone put so much effort and work into and actually being in the bubble of what you before just read or watched. That was really special.” 

Thiemann added she’s a big fan of Hunter Schafter who plays Tigris Snow who is Coriolanus’s older cousin. “When I first saw her in the hotel, I was literally just like, ‘Hi.’ Then I left because I was like, ‘I don’t want to annoy her,’ Thiemann explained. “But it was still super big for me to be in the same project or even have the possibility to meet the people, especially Rachel and Tom, which I saw the most are such nice people, super open, super grounded, which was a nice experience.”