On the heels of today’s confirmation that 20-year-old Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence will play Katniss Everdeen, the 16-year-old heroine of Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games adaptation, EW caught up with director Gary Ross to get his explanation of the casting move. According to the interview, Lawrence’s age and her blonde hair — details that raised fan eyebrows when the Winter’s Bone star first emerged as a front-runner — are of no matter to Ross, who says the choice was “the easiest casting decision I ever made in my life.” And if it makes any difference, Suzanne Collins apparently agrees.

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Gary Ross Defends Jennifer Lawrence Casting, Says Hunger Games Author Approves