Liam Hemsworth excited about "Hunger Games" role

"When people are excited to meet me, I’m so flattered and so excited to meet them," said Hemsworth, 22. "It’s definitely weird. It’s definitely exciting at the same time. I’m so glad that people are that passionate about this movie."

Fans are indeed passionate about "The Hunger Games," which was filmed in North Carolina and comes out today. (Review on page XX). Based on author Suzanne Collins' work, it takes place in a post-apocalyptic era in which children are forced by an iron-fisted government to fight to the finish. Many in the scrum of fans waiting for hours outside Lenox for a glimpse at the cast members said they'd read the books again and again.

"I read all three of them," Hemsworth said. "I heard about the books about a year before production and ended up really, really loving them."

Hemsworth plays Gale, the best friend of central character Katniss, played by Jennifer Lawrence.

"As an actor I look for things I relate to in some way or characters who I related to in some way," Hemsworth said. "I felt very connected to Gale as a character. I kind of envied his courage."

The character he was playing during his last acting-related trip to Georgia was Will Blakelee in film "The Last Song." His love interest in the moview was Ronnie Miller, played by current girlfriend Miley Cyrus.

"The last time I was here we got to shoot in the (Georgia) Aquarium which was pretty incredible," he said. And that's about all Hemsworth said about Cyrus during our interview.

"I didn’t get into this industry to be famous. I have my personal life that I try to keep personal," he said. (Google "Miley and Liam" to see how successful that has been).

On the other hand, Hemsworth was very interested in talking about Sylvester Stallone. He called the veteran actor/writer/director a great mentor.

"Stallone is one of the smartest people I’ve met in this industry," he said. "I shot ‘Expendables 2′ with him. I talked to him for a long, long time about everything to do with this business. He’s just so smart and really stands by what he believes in."

With so much interest surrounding the film, Hemsworth first asked to view it by himself so his impressions would not be influenced by others' reactions.

"I was so nervous going in the first time," he said. "It turned out to be one of the most powerful films I've ever seen."

To prepare for his role as Gale, Hemsworth said he lost about 20 pounds by working out and eating less.

"I wanted to feel like what it is to be hungry," he said.

While screaming fans greeting him at appearances has been a bit of a transition for a guy who never wanted to be an actor until he started taking classes in his teens, he isn't surprised at the anticipation surrounding the movie.

"It’s about the characters, really strong characters that people care about. None of the violence in these books is glorified in any way," he said. "All young people envy these characters because they are so heroic and courageous. They are essentially really good people. Because they’re so heroic, people think, ‘I want to be like that.' "

Would he like to be like Gale?

"I really envy his courage and passion for not siding with this evil," he said. "He’s constantly trying to find a way to get out of this evil."