Movie lovers did a double-take after watching the new The Hunger Games trailer and spotting a familiar face amongst the crowd.
The new prequel film, Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, has long been in the making and will feature a star-studded cast that includes Elle Fanning and Kieran Culkin.
Based on Suzanne Collins’ novel, the film is set 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, and tells the story of ‘the fight, the tribute, and the moment that changed the games forever.’
Towards the end of the trailer, there’s a quick pan of a crowd filled with parents and children, with none other than EastEnders star Kara Tointon seen holding onto one of the young actors.
Kara, who first joined EastEnders in 2005 as Dawn Swann, plays Willamae Abernathy in the new Hunger Games film.
Willamae is the mother of Haymitch Abernathy, one of the main characters, and Sid, who is the younger child she’s seen holding in the trailer.
MailOnline reports another fan as saying: 'I still can’t believe Dawn from EE is playing Haymitch’s mum in the new Hunger Games movie.'
On EastEnders, Kara played Dawn for four years and went on to compete in Strictly Come Dancing, winning the 2010 series, and nabbing roles in TV shows such as Mr Selfridge and The Teacher.
Kara announced her part in the Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping at the end of last year, sharing a photo of the film's poster.
'Only a year to wait. Buzzing to be a part of this incredible cast. @josephzada … a superstar,' Kara said.
Her film role marks her first big screen job since she revealed she’d undergone a double mastectomy and had her fallopian tubes removed after learning she carries the BRCA1 gene.
Kara’s mother Carol passed away after a battle with ovarian cancer in 2018, and after having her second child, Kara decided to have surgery as a preventative measure.
Kara is a mum to her two sons, Frey and Helly, whom she shares with her Norwegian partner Marius.
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