Tara Macken is very attached to District Four of Panem–she’s their tribute.

The actress spoke about her role as the District Four Tribute in the upcoming film “The Hunger Games,” based on the popular book series by Suzanne Collins. “A lot of the attributes of my character stem from the attributes of my district–very water-based and aqua-like,” she said. “I’m a lot stronger than some tributes and I’m one of the older tributes.”

Macken, a young actress, said working on “The Hunger Games” was one of the few times she’s been on the set with actors and actresses her age or younger. “Usually I’m working with veterans of acting, actors who are older than me,” she said. “There was a different energy [on the “Hunger Games” set]. I had never really had an opportunity to experience that kind of energy on set before.”

For Macken, working on the set was a “great learning experience.” “It was wonderful to watch [Jennifer Lawrence] work,” she said. She also said it was great to work with people she had admired and looked up to, like Lenny Kravitz, who plays Cinna.

Macken said the film will be as accurate to the book series as it can be. “I think it does [remain faithful],” she said. “We kept as close to the book as possible. This movie is a hero’s journey and a coming of age story,” she said. “We hope everyone has a fun time seeing the strong heroine in Katniss.”

Make sure to look for Macken’s stuntwork in the upcoming “G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation.” She will also be appearing in an upcoming episode of Adult Swim’s “Children’s Hospital.”

Written by: Monique Jones