Lenny Kravitz was at his home studio in the Bahamas, putting the finishing touches on his album Black and White America (due August 30th), when Gary Ross called this spring...

"Now, I hadn't read the book yet, so I didn't know what it was," Kravitz tells Rolling Stone. "I go out and get the book, read it – oh, wow."

Like millions of readers worldwide, Kravitz proceeded to tear through The Hunger Games. He's currently midway through Catching Fire, the second book in the trilogy. "I'm really excited to be playing Cinna," he says. "Reading the book, I'm seeing everything – the Capitol, the arena, all this stuff. This world is going to be incredible."