He is the elder son of Michelle (née Fightmaster), a former Delta Air Lines employee who now assists with Josh's career, and Chris Hutcherson, an analyst for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[2] For three years, Hutcherson and his mother lived in Los Angeles' Oakwood apartments, a housing community that accommodates young child actors and their families.

[14][15] Hutcherson played on the high school's soccer team and has been a keen sports enthusiast since,[7][15] also displaying a passion for football and tennis.

[17] The following year, he played the leading role of Charlie Logan in the television film Miracle Dogs, which aired on Animal Planet.

[6][26] Stella Papamichael of the BBC approved of his performance, saying that "Hutcherson's delivery is spot-on, showing a keen instinct for self-effacing humor that would make even Woody Allen feel that bit more inadequate",[27] but Variety columnist Brian Lowry felt that Hutcherson "might have looked cute on the page, but even with his Linus voice the language and tone [didn't] feel natural.

"[28] He next appeared in a lead role in Jon Favreau's Zathura: A Space Adventure, which he enjoyed filming owing to the number of special effects and stunts he was involved with.

[35] Hutcherson's breakthrough role in his career as a child actor came in 2007, when he portrayed Jesse Aarons in the fantasy drama Bridge to Terabithia.

[37] Author Ann C. Paietta describes his character of Jesse Aarons as "an introverted boy with four sisters, a financially strapped family, and a real talent for drawing" whose life is turned around when Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb) arrives, with whom he creates an imaginary utopian world.

[38] Anne Hornaday of The Washington Post found his casting to be "a perfect fit" and commended how he portrayed the "sensitive, artistic, temperament" of his character,[39] while Miriam Di Nunzio of the Chicago Sun-Times noted the chemistry between Hutcherson and Robb, referring to them as a "dynamic duo".

[42][46] Over the next two years, he appeared as a boy named Steve "Leopard" Leonard who visits a freak show with his friends in the vampire fiction film adaptation of the book Cirque du Freak[47] and had a supporting role in the critically acclaimed The Kids Are All Right, portraying the son of a lesbian couple, played by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore.

[51][52] Gregory Ellwood of entertainment site HitFix stated: "Hutcherson's charismatic wit and natural instincts shine and it's arguably the first film where he proves he's more than just another sharp-looking teen actor.

On April 4, 2011, Lionsgate announced that 18-year-old Hutcherson had been cast as Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games series, opposite Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.

[56] Lawrence, a very close friend, has always spoken highly of him as an actor; in regards to his portrayal of Peeta Mellark she stated, "He's charming, he's sweet, he's down to earth, he's normal.

"[57] He became known for his pranks on set,[58] leading to an accident as he was play-fighting with Lawrence who kicked him in the head, unintentionally knocking him unconscious and giving him a concussion.

[61][62] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone described the actor's portrayal saying, "[Hutcherson] brings humor and a bruised heart to a boy who needs to mature fast.

"[70] Although the film was largely panned,[71] it fared well commercially and his performance was well received, with Kofi Outlaw of Screenrant.com appreciating how he "does a good job holding the screen and portraying a somewhat layered protagonist".

[74] Todd Gilchrist of Indiewire proclaimed of the actor's performance that "Hutcherson's maturing talents achieve a parallelism with the character's self-actualization, proving subtler and more self-aware with every resigned decision he makes on behalf of the people around him that he loves.

[79] On November 23, 2013, the day following The Hunger Games: Catching Fire's United States release, Hutcherson hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live.

"[85] Emily Yahr of The Washington Post spoke positively of his acting, by saying "Peeta's crazed expression is sure to haunt our nightmares for a long time,"[86] while David Edelstein of New York criticized his portrayal in relation to scenes with the other characters, saying "at least Josh Hutcherson's captured Peeta is mostly seen in interviews with Stanley Tucci's camp talk-show host on TV screens ... so the actor can't bring his lack of urgency to scenes with [Jennifer Lawrence].

In a short period, he had supporting roles in three films directed by James Franco: The Long Home (unreleased), In Dubious Battle (2016), and The Disaster Artist (2017).

Beginning in November 2017, Hutcherson starred in the science fiction comedy series Future Man on the video on demand service Hulu.

He appeared in the 2022 Ernest Hemingway adaptation Across the River and Into the Trees and starred opposite Morgan Freeman in the 2023 science fiction thriller 57 Seconds.

Released in October 2023, Hutcherson stars as Mike Schmidt in the Blumhouse Productions film Five Nights at Freddy's, based on the video game series of the same name.

Hutcherson appeared as the main antagonist Derek Danforth in the Jason Statham action film The Beekeeper, which was released on January 19, 2024.

[105] Yearly in 2012–2014, he has hosted the "Josh Hutcherson Celebrity Basketball Game" in Los Angeles, which raises funds and awareness for the "Straight But Not Narrow" campaign.

[106] In November 2013, Hutcherson and Queen Latifah presented trophies together to four young community volunteers in a live ceremony at the fifth annual TeenNick HALO Awards at the Hollywood Palladium.

For The Hunger Games, Hutcherson and his co-stars were nominated for ten awards, winning eight of them, including National Association of Theatre Owners' 2012 "Breakthrough Performer of the Year" and Logo TV's 2012 "Next Mega Star".