“For me, this was definitely the biggest thing I’d ever done. I was a fan of the original [The Hunger Games] movies. I hadn’t read the original books, but I went and saw those movies when they were coming out with my mum and my sister. The movies were amazing. I watched the first one the other day. I thought, ‘Let’s see if this holds up against the test of time.’ And it fucking does.”

Almost a decade after The Hunger Games splashed across our screens, the portal to the dystopian state of Panem is being flung open again with the franchise’s prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. And, actor Tom Blyth delivers a performance of a lifetime as the new leading man. Upon the highly anticipated spin-off’s release today, the actor covers our Winter 23 issue, meeting up with school friend and star of Stranger Things, Maya Hawke, to reflect on the road that’s landed him at Hollywood’s front door.

Pre-order the issue at wonderlandshop.com.