It isn’t snagging a breakout role in a major Hollywood film, but once you do, the pressure doesn’t stop there. Picking the right follow-up projects, ones that allow an actor to continue honing their craft while also further solidifying the artist one wants to present to the industry, is of the utmost importance. That’s the phase we find Rachel Zegler in. After delivering a staggeringly beautiful debut feature performance in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, it's on to a beloved franchise, a remake of a Disney classic, and an A24 comedy.

The first out of the gate for that trio is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The role of Lucy Gray Baird is a massive challenge to take on for a number of reasons. First off, Zegler must follow in the footsteps of Jennifer Lawrence who delivered impeccable work as Katniss Everdeen in the original Hunger Games movies. Not only must Zegler take up the mantle of Hunger Games lead, but she’s doing so with a character with an especially bubbly personality who very much walks to the beat of her own drum. Zegler was tasked with capturing Lucy Gray’s infectious song and spirit, but without ever undermining the severity of the situation she finds herself in, and Zegler absolutely nails it.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place 64 years before Katniss volunteers for the 74th Hunger Games. The 10th Hunger Games is a wholly different spectacle. The Capitol has yet to develop its hi-tech arena, hovercrafts, and disturbing array of cruel mutts. Instead, the tributes are starving, the bloodbath unfolds in an old stone arena, and they struggle to get Capitol citizens to watch. However, this year could be different because this time around, the tributes have mentors. When a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is assigned to mentor District 12’s Lucy Gray, he’s determined to get her to capture the hearts of Capitol citizens just like she did his, via song and simply being a ray of light in horrible situation.

With The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes now playing in theaters nationwide, and already racking up $44 million at the domestic box office, Zegler took the time to join me for a Collider Ladies Night conversation to discuss her goals as she continues to carve her path in Hollywood.

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