This article discusses disordered eating. 

Back in 2011, Hollywood stars found themselves in a battle for what was set to be the role of a lifetime – Katniss Everdeen.

Suzanne Collins' bestselling novel The Hunger Games was being developed into a film, and actors were going to extreme lengths in an attempt to score the lead.

Especially Alyson Stoner.

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The Disney child star has detailed their extreme commitment to the audition process in a new excerpt from their upcoming novel published by Vanity Fair.

Over the years, Stoner has been open about their struggle with disordered eating, having grown up in the industry.

The actor was just 17 years old when whispers of the role began to swirl within the industry.

They took things to the extreme, training day in and day out, before being approved to attend "a world-renowned medical weight loss camp" to get them in shape for the role.

Already underweight, Stoner attended the two-week camp which consisted of "seven hours of daily exercise on a calorie deficit".

"Other than slipping in a few comments that I was taking the workouts too far, my mother knew she couldn't stop me," they wrote.

"I didn't recognise the irrational exceptions that doctors (and society) made for Hollywood, because it was all I knew."

They recalled an "industry-referred doctor" discovering a heart murmur when they were 10 years old, but deciding not to mark anything on their file as they were about to start shooting Cheaper by the Dozen and the doctor said that it "might stop the production company from letting you work".

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"I followed the doctor's orders and ignored the murmur like he did, deducing that Hollywood must exist above medicine, above the law, and even above common sense," they remembered.

"By the end of the two weeks, my arms and abs could cut glass," they said.

"My body fat percentage dropped into the range of elite gymnasts. I had never been stronger, and I felt indomitable. And then, the tipping point came."

Eventually, the lack of food and intense exercise became too much for Stoner's body to handle, depleting their immune system. At this point, they hadn't even secured an audition.

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"My teams and acting coaches always said casting directors had no imagination, and they needed to believe you were the character from the second they saw you in the waiting room," they wrote.

Eventually they secured an audition, walking into the audition room and having to pretend "that I wasn't blacking out when I handed her my headshot".

"After a week, I teetered past the edge of deprivation into a full-body emergency alarm for food," they said of waiting to hear back about the role.

The brutal process that Stoner put themselves through backfired when they didn't land the role, with Katniss Everdeen instead going to Jennifer Lawrence

"I sat on my bed with vacant eyes and a distant mind," they recalled of receiving the news.

"I didn't know what to do with myself."

If you, or someone you know, are struggling with an eating disorder, you can find help, support and resources through The Butterfly Foundation: 1800 33 4673

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