Jennifer Lawrence won't diet for role

Los Angeles - The Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence will not be dieting for a role any time soon.

Lawrence, 22, who plays the famished Katniss Everdeen in the life-or-death thriller series, told Elle magazine in an interview to be published on 13 November that dropping a few kilograms will not be part of her script.

"I'm never going to starve myself for a part," Lawrence said, a view out of step with many in diet-obsessed Hollywood.

Lawrence's figure in The Hunger Games raised eyebrows of some critics, who believed the actress looked a little too healthy for a character struggling to eat.

"I don't want little girls to be like, 'Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I'm going to skip dinner," Lawrence said.

"That's something I was really conscious of during training... I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong - not thin and underfed."

Suffering for a role by rapidly losing or gaining weight is part of Hollywood lore.

Natalie Portman was applauded for dropping more than 9kg for her Oscar-winning role as a ballerina in 2010's Black Swan. Likewise Robert De Niro nabbed an Oscar after packing on nearly 30kg in 1980 boxing film Raging Bull.

Lawrence's figure did not hurt the first installment of the The Hunger Games series, which was released in March and has grossed about $670m worldwide. The actress has signed on for three sequels.