The Hunger Games: 10 Things You Never Knew About Effie Trinket
Effie Trinket is a fan-favorite character in The Hunger Games franchise brought to life by actress Elizabeth Banks. Despite appearing as an eclectic individual who could pass off as another brainwashed soul from District 1, this is far from the truth. Effie is known for her wild fashion taste and for her genuine emotional depth and growth across the series. She is the escort for District 12 and the person who actually initially calls Prim and Peeta's names in the drawing. Over the franchise, we see Effie's character growth. Here are a few fun facts about the character you might not know.
10 Effie Trinket was a model
Effie is known for her role as host to announcing the many tributes for the Hunger Games but she was also a notable fashionista in the Capitol. One of the first things we notice about her is her eccentric outfits and vibrant wigs.
One might think she simply enjoys wearing those outfits as part of her personality -- and that is certainly true -- but Effie was also a model for Capitol Couture. It was important for her to model the latest and greatest looks and ensembles in Capitol fashion.
9 Elizabeth Banks was inspired by the film Auntie Mame
Creating Effie's look on-screen was not an easy task. As a fan of the series, Elizabeth Banks took bringing Effie to life very seriously. She did plenty of studying beforehand to decide what looks would best suit her character.
She has spoken about being inspired by Rosalind Russell's performance in the film Auntie Mame. She played the main character who was based on an eccentric woman in real life. Mame was known for wearing exorbitant costumes and being larger than life in every aspect of her world.
8 Effie has a larger part in the films than the books
If you're a die-hard fan of The Hunger Games, this is something that you might be aware of, but then again, there are a lot of people that only enjoy the films or the books and haven't done both. If you're one of those people, you might not realize that Effie's role was expanded in the films.
Her part in the books is comparatively minor, and there were several aspects of her character added into the films that weren't present in the books (such as a certain romance).
7 Elizabeth Banks reached out specifically to play the role
Elizabeth Banks is a self-proclaimed fan of The Hunger Games series. She loved Effie and Haymitch so much that she even named one of her characters in Pitch Perfect after Haymitch with the surname Abernathy. That's true love.
When she heard The Hunger Games were being made into films, she reached out to play the role of Effie and offered all of her ideas about the character. Banks' enthusiasm and knowledge of the part made her a top pick for the character, and eventually, she won the role.
6 It took a long time for the team to figure out Effie's voice
Finding the perfect voice for Effie wasn't easy. When Elizabeth Banks worked on perfecting it with the director, she tried everything from a Southern accent to a British accent and everything in between.
After a while, they decided to take inspiration, again, from the film Auntie Mame in defining Effie's now-signature voice. It wouldn't have worked any other way. Most fans can still hear her voice in their heads even after they've finished the film.
5 Cabaret provided some inspiration for Effie's many outfits and wigs
There were a lot of different films and characters that inspired Effie, but one of the most notable places of inspiration came from the play Cabaret. Elizabeth Banks has discussed the influence of Cabaret, specifically Joel Grey, in several interviews.
She claims that the starting point became about mimicking Joey Grey's features, and from there, they figured out what wigs, make-up, and costumes would best suit Effie. It may seem like she would wear everything, but each outfit was chosen for specific reasons.
4 Banks couldn't go to the bathroom alone while wearing Effie's costumes
As you might expect, given the convoluted and complicated nature of most of Effie's outfits, Banks had a difficult time getting herself undressed and even going to the bathroom by herself.
It was hard for her to use Effie's long nails to undo buttons, clasps, and zippers, She had a small group of women that would assist her whenever she had to go to the restroom, including handing her toilet paper when the time came.
3 Elizabeth Banks asked Suzanne Collins permission for the romance
If you've read the books, then you know that the romance between Effie Trinket and Haymitch Abernathy did not happen in the text. As we've already mentioned, Elizabeth Banks is a huge fan of the books and the characters Effie and Haymitch.
She rooted for the two to get together by the end, and we see them kiss at the end of the film series. To make that happen, Banks actually reached out to Suzanne Collins and got her permission to add the romance to the movie.
2 Effie's nails were important to her
One thing about Effie's many glorious outfits you might not have noticed is her long nails. Effie always has her nails done in elegant and somewhat garish manicures. Her nails are often so long they caused Banks trouble doing anything on set.
However, they were an important and pivotal part of her costumes. Effie's moods and desires could be dictated by what adorned her nails. She is the type of character to ensure her ensemble matches from head-to-toe. Even if her nails aren't always visible, you can rest assured they were fully buffed and decorated.
1 Elizabeth Banks improvised one of Effie's most famous lines
In the first Hunger Games movie, Effie has a line where she exclaims, "That is mahogany," after Katniss slams a knife into the table. Many fans and people have made memes based around that quote, and it is still frequently joked about in social media.
It's one of Effie's best and funniest lines, thanks to Banks' delivery. Well, it might surprise fans to know that Banks actually threw that line in. It was not originally in the script but she happened to adlib it and it made the final cut.