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Josh Hutcherson was joined by several of his costars from The Hunger Games last night at a dinner to toast his new Nylon Guys cover in LA. We caught up with Josh inside the soiree to talk about being a part of one of this year's most hotly anticipated movie events and why he felt an immediate connection to his character, Peeta Mellark. He also shared a little about his favorite scene in the close-to-finished cut of the film he recently watched, and told us about the moment on set that brought Jennifer Lawrence to tears. Here are some highlights:

PopSugar: Have you guys gotten to see the final cut of The Hunger Games?
Josh: Not final cut, but a very close to final cut, yeah.
PS: What was the coolest moment or scene for you [to watch]?
Josh: For me, honestly, my favorite scene is when it's, like, the day before the games and Katniss and Peeta have that conversation. And that, for me, I thought was a really cool spot in the relationship because you kind of see the tenderness between them a little bit. So that meant a lot to me.
PS: I started reading the book and I actually pictured you as Gale before I knew who was playing who. I'm curious, did you read for any other part?
Josh: Really? I mean, for me I had an immediate connection with Peeta. I felt like I was Peeta in so many ways, it kind of blew my mind a little bit. To the point when I actually walked into the room to audition, and [author] Suzanne Collins and [director] Gary Ross were there, I said to them — I've never said this before in any audition and I'll never say it again because it sounds disgusting — but I am so much like Peeta! Reading it, I was almost like, 'How did Suzanne Collins write a movie about my [kind of] person?' It kind of blew my mind.

For more from our chat with Josh and a look inside last night's party, just read more