After a rough couple of months, which saw her private nude photos leaked on the internet, and a romance with Coldplay's Chris Martin reportedly fizzle out, Jennifer Lawrence could be forgiven for lying low for a while.

But with a massive blockbuster - the third instalment of the Hunger Games franchise, Mockingjay - Part 1 - to promote, the show must go on for the Oscar-winning 24-year-old.

Dressed in a sharply-cut white power suit, her blonde hair in a choppy bob, Lawrence has echoes of tough young warrior Katniss Everdeen, who begins the latest film (based on the bestselling trilogy by author Suzanne Collins) battle-scarred and facing an even bigger fight for survival.

The actress insists, however, that she's a "very different person, who handles emotions in a very different way" to heroine and reluctant leader Katniss, and had she been faced with Katniss' struggles in real life: "I would have been crying every single day," the Kentucky-born star confesses with a mock wail.

"But I remember reading the first books, and when I read them, I was going through my first awards season for Winter's Bone [the 2010 drama which earned Lawrence an Oscar nomination].

"I had never experienced anything like that; being put in dresses that are uncomfortable, and looking not like myself, and all of a sudden everybody's listening to you and you're like, 'Don't listen to me, I'm 20', and then kind of growing into it, in a way."

Since her Winter's Bone breakthrough, Lawrence has certainly grown into life as a leading lady, with smart career choices and acclaimed performances.

Alongside her roles in the Hunger Games and X-Men franchises, she earned a Best Actress Oscar aged 22 for the more low-key Silver Linings Playbook (Lawrence is the second-youngest actress in history to land that award), and a Supporting Actress nomination for last year's comedy crime caper American Hustle.

Lawrence has also endeared herself to fans the world over with her sense of humour (she describes her Hunger Games action gear as a "Bob the Builder kind of outfit"), down-to-earth attitude ("I cannot keep up with emails, so the idea of Twitter is so unthinkable to me"), and the occasional red carpet tumble (she famously tripped up while heading on stage to accept her Oscar).

In September, however, her world was rocked when it emerged she was one of the high-profile victims of the celebrity photo-hacking scandal. The actress later described the leaking of intimate personal images as "disgusting" and a "sex crime".

She made headlines again recently when it was reported that the star - who was previously in a relationship with her English X-Men co-star Nicholas Hoult - and Coldplay singer Martin had split after around four months of dating.

Today though, on a press tour with the Hunger Games co-stars she now counts among her best friends, Lawrence is keen to focus on the film and Katniss, a character she "loves everything about".

The first Mockingjay movie sees the "reluctant heroine" wake up in District 13, an unknown underground world she didn't know existed, separated from her fellow fighter Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). Her former home, District 12, has been turned to rubble, and she's faced with the prospect of war against the wealthy Capitol.

"One of the first scenes I shot was when we first find Katniss and she's locked herself in an air vent. Naturally, she's in a darker place because she's completely stripped away from everything she knows and has to rebuild," Lawrence explains.

"In the first movie, she wanted to save her family. In the second, she tried to save her friends and herself. Now, she starts to realise the impact she has on the wider world and that she has a choice to lead this battle for what is right."

Australian actor Liam Hemsworth returns to play Katniss' devoted friend Gale, while Julianne Moore joins as District 13 President Alma Coin, who is keen to have Katniss lead the rebellion against the Capitol.

"Both our characters do actually have a lot in common; we're both very strong and very powerful, so there's something we respect in each other, but also something we both fear in one another," Lawrence says of Coin.

Learning fellow Oscar nominee Moore was signing up was "the most exciting, unbelievable news in the world".

"I think Julianne is one of the greatest actresses of all time, just absolutely phenomenal," says Lawrence. "She was even more impressive in person. She is such a sweet family woman and also hilarious. Working with her was a dream come true."

With an incredibly loyal following (who have also snapped up more than 65 million copies of Collins' novels), "the fans and our audience are constantly in our conversation" during filming, the actress notes.

"That's how all the excitement around these books [came about], and it's who we're making these movies for," Lawrence adds.

"Before we make any huge decisions, there's a conversation with Suzanne Collins. There's definitely an awareness of our fan base, because it's so giant and so important to us."

With the fourth and final film due out next year, in which Katniss and District 13 embark on all-out war against the Capitol, Lawrence and her co-stars are preparing to bid farewell to the franchise.

"We had a feeling that these [films] were going to be big and this character was going to be with me for the rest of my life, [but] this surpassed every expectation we ever had. That made me nervous for a few days, because I'm an actor, I don't want to just be remembered as one character," Lawrence admits.

"But I'm so proud of these movies. I love their message, I love this character, I'm actually honoured to carry this for the rest of my life and to have people remember me as this incredible courageous hero..."

With a laugh, she adds: "I hope people mistake it for me."

EXTRA TIME - JENNIFER LAWRENCE ON...

:: Singing in the film: "I do not like singing in front of other people, that's like my biggest fear. I cried on set that day."

:: Body image: "I have such an idea of myself where I'm just like a Victoria's Secret model all the time. And then when I see the truth, I'm like, 'What?!' You should see what I look like in my mind. I have reverse body dysmorphia!"

:: English men: "I do seem to like Englishmen, don't I? You guys are just so charming... now I'm blushing and scratching and itching and sweating."

:: Family: "I wouldn't be anything without them. They're always there, no matter what. Everyone else can leave you, but they can't."

:: Tripping up at the Oscars: "I can't say that a certain remedy or thought made me feel better. Time went by and I couldn't stop slapping myself every single time I thought about it."

:: On the future: "I'd like to direct at some point. But I don't know, because 10 years ago, I would have never imagined that I'd be here. So in 10 years from now, I might be running a rodeo."

:: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, is released on Thursday, November 20