Alexander Ludwig joins Peter Berg’s ‘Lone Survivor’

Alexander Ludwig hasn't had much luck on the big screen lately. His last character, "Hunger Games" tribute Cato, had a very rough go of it in the 74^th games, so here's hoping he has more luck as a Navy SEAL in Peter Berg's new movie "Lone Survivor" - although the film's title gives us little hope.

Deadline is reporting that the "Battleship" director has just added the young Canadian actor to his roster of Special Forces operatives in the film adaptation of Marcus Luttrell's harrowing real-life tale of the same name. Ludwig is set to play a young sailor named Shane Patton, part of a team of SEALs sent into the mountains of Afghanistan to apprehend or kill a high-ranking Taliban leader. Ludwig joins fellow British Columbian and "Battleship" star Taylor Kitsch, Mark Wahlberg ("Ted"), Eric Bana ("Star Trek"), and Emile Hirsch ("Into The Wild") in the film.

It's a decidedly adult role for the 20-year-old actor, who previously starred in youth-oriented films like "The Race to Witch Mountain" and "The Seeker." Ludwig's extremely physical turn as "Hunger Games" heavy Cato probably helped him secure the "Lone Survivor" part. Real-life Navy SEAL training is notoriously rigorous, so Berg's film will likely require all of the actors playing the elite soldiers to look the part. Luckily for Ludwig, he's already trained with actual Navy SEALs in preparation for his "Hunger Games" role. Here's hoping he fares better against the Taliban than he did against Katniss and Peeta.

Ludwig will next be seen in "Grown Ups 2" (the polar opposite of "Lone Survivor"), opposite Adam Sandler and Taylor Lautner.

"Lone Survivor" starts filming on September 25 in New Mexico.