Rachel Zegler reached out to Whitney Peak and offered her support after she cast in the upcoming The Hunger Games prequel.
The West Side Story star reached out to the up-and-coming actress to let her know she was there if she needed support with the pressure of joining the popular movie franchise in The Sunrise on the Reaping.
Zegler had personal experience with the scrutiny after playing Lucy Gray Baird in the 2023 Hunger Games film The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
The 24-year-old explained to Harper's Bazaar that Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu, her co-stars in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, supported her early in her career and taught her to "show up for other women", particularly young actresses.
"That's why when Whitney Peak got cast in the new Hunger Games, I reached out to say, 'I'm here, even though I hope to God you don't need me,'" she added.
Following her tumultuous experience playing the titular character in Disney's 2025 live-action Snow White remake, Zegler would also offer support to any other women of colour becoming a Disney princess.
"The next time a woman of colour is cast as a Disney princess, I'll be there with bells on to support them, to lift them up, to advise and to tell them what not to do," said the star, who faced backlash over her casting due to her Colombian heritage.
In The Sunrise on the Reaping, which is set 24 years before the original Hunger Games, Peak portrays Lenore Dove Baird alongside Joseph Zada as Haymitch Abernathy, a character portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the original franchise.
The Hocus Pocus 2 actress told The Hollywood Reporter last year that it was "really incredible" to receive a message from Zegler.
"Rachel reached out and gave me some love, and I know that was really huge," she gushed. "The support that came through was really lovely. I was terrified, to be completely honest."
The film also stars Glenn Close, Jesse Plemons, Kieran Culkin, Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, and Maya Hawke, among others. It will be released in cinemas on 20 November.
