Actor Lily Rabe revealed why she exited the role of Commander Lyme in The Hunger Games film franchise, sharing that her reasoning and need to leave was purely logistical.
"I'm so happy to talk about this," Rabe said in a new installment of Collider Interviews on YouTube. "I was asked about that recently because I think there was some stuff out at the time that was really not kind of accurate. It was so simple what happened."
The American Horror Story actor explained that she had already committed to starring in Much Ado About Nothing for Shakespeare in the Park with director Hamish Linklater and that she originally planned on doing both projects.
"I think we had been planning it for however long, talking about it for probably a few years. And then it was happening and it was set," Rabe recalled. "When I was cast in The Hunger Games, the dates worked with Much Ado. I think I was gonna shoot it before we started rehearsal and for reasons that I can no longer remember that had absolutely nothing to do with me, but just to do with production, the dates pushed on Hunger Games."
"And they pushed a few times," she continued. "So at first we were still fine, then we were still fine and then they pushed to the point where it wasn't even during our rehearsal period, it was actually during our performance period."
Rabe noted that The Hunger Games team was supportive of her decision, explaining, "It was just, 'Oh, this no longer works out and I have made this commitment to do Much Ado.'Â And The Hunger Games side, they were all completely aware of it and they so understood my choice and were so supportive."
"So there was really no drama," she continued, "The only sad thing was that I couldn’t do both, but it wasn't a sort of, 'Oh, which one do I do?' Because one had been my prior commitment and everyone was totally aware of that. So it was unfortunate, but it just was what it was. When I couldn’t do both, I couldn’t do both."
Gwendoline Christie, known for her portrayal of Brienne of Tarth in HBO's Game of Thrones, portrays Commander Lyme in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 in place of Rabe.
The Hunger Games franchise is composed of four installments: The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2. The films star Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland and Stanley Tucci.
Source: Collider