How Alan Ritchson Felt About His Hunger Games Death

Alan Ritchson, known for playing Aquaman in “Smallville” and Jack Reacher in Prime Video’s “Reacher” series, has spent time in plenty of action franchises. He’s taken on other heroes, like Hawk in HBO Max’s “Titans” and Raphael in the 2010s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” films, but has also played villains, as when he joined the cast of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” as Gloss, a District 1 victor and re-reaped tribute. His character dies, but to this day Ritchson doesn’t like how his death turned out on screen because it was changed during post-production — making the actor think that the way he chose to move his head came off looking a bit silly.

In “The Hunger Games,” tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4 are considered Careers, or teens that have been trained for the Games. It’s considered an honor in those districts to be in the Games, and many even volunteer for it. As part of the 75th Hunger Games in “Catching Fire,” the tributes are reaped from the existing pool of victors, meaning those who have already survived the traumatic event have to go back in and relive it. As a District 1 tribute, Gloss has great odds to win for a second time, but those are cut short when Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) kills him. 

Alan Ritchson told Wired in 2025 that he thought his on-screen death in “Catching Fire” was later changed in a way that didn’t line up with how he acted in the original shot. “Actually, I took an arrow to the face, so I played it like it was to the face. And then I think they decided in post that was a little too gruesome, to take an arrow to the face by Katniss, so they changed it to my chest,” he said. “But I didn’t shoot it that way! I didn’t shoot it like I was taking a shot to the chest. My head snapped back like an idiot, and the thing went in my chest, and I’m like this,” he added, jerking his head back. “Who does that? I wouldn’t have died like that.”

When rewatching the scene in “Catching Fire,” it’s clear there’s been some editing to try and eliminate Gloss’s head snapping back. As Katniss shoots an arrow at him, the filming angle changes to Gloss’s rear. It then switches back to the front right as his head seems to move, showing the audience the arrow in his chest. You can still see the movement of his chin, and while it isn’t as obvious with how quickly everything happens, it’s still not the way that Alan Ritchson would have liked to go out.