Shailene Woodley

Shailene Woodley

Shailene Woodley asked Jennifer Lawrence for advice before taking the lead role in 'Divergent'.

'The Descendants' actress admits she was unsure about accepting the role of Tris in the big screen adaptation of Veronica Roth's young adult book series and looked to the Oscar winner for guidance, because she stars in the similarly-themed 'Hunger Games' movies.

She said: "I have still yet to meet Jennifer in the flesh, but I had a slight interaction with her where I asked her about 'Hunger Games' and what it was like, and her life and how much it has changed. It was nice asking someone who has been through the process and is kind of seasoned in the young adult franchise.

"She gave me really beautiful advice and said that I should definitely take it."

Both 'Divergent' and 'The Hunger Games' are based on popular young adult novels set in a dystopian world, with Lawrence playing heroine Katniss Everdeen in the latter franchise.

Woodley - who recently finished starring in TV show 'The Secret Life of the American Teenager' - claims her reluctance to accept the part stemmed from the idea of being locked into another long-term contract.

She explained to Vanity Fair: "I was nervous because I had just gotten out of a five-year series, which was a six-year contract. I sort of learned my lesson about signing into things for a long period of time.

"The thought of signing a four-year contract was very daunting, and doing a huge franchise movie that has the potential to be very successful was frightening to me. I never wanted that amount of attention, and the thought of losing my anonymity was not something that I was looking forward to."

'Divergent' is currently being filmed in Chicago, Illinois, for a March 2014 release.