Actress Jennifer Lawrence has credited Liam Hemsworth, her co-star in the film "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1`, for `toughening her up`.

The 24-year-old said in an interview to Nylon magazine that she was surprised to find a lasting friendship with Hemsworth, and has formed an unexpected and strong bond with him, reports contactmusic.com.

The duo was last seen together on-screen in the fourth part of `The Hunger Games` franchise.

Asked about her time working on the franchise, the Oscar winner said: "I guess the thing that surprised me is that I would never expect to ever have a man this good looking ever be my best friend. I just would never assume those things could happen, but he is.

"He's (Hemsworth) the most wonderful, lovable, family-oriented, sweet, hilarious, amazing guy. He actually taught me how to be fair and to stand up for myself. It's my biggest weakness: negotiating.

"I'm a wimp about standing up for myself and Liam is always fair. He's always on time, he's always doing his job, and he's good about making sure that things stay fair.

"He's teaching me to toughen up a little bit. That was important, I need that," she added.