The Hunger Games franchise is known for its star-studded cast, from Jennifer Lawrence as protagonist Katniss Everdeen to Woody Harrelson as her mentor Haymitch Abernathy. Many of the more minor characters were also portrayed by familiar faces, which is one of the multitudes of reasons why the series became such a hit. One of the many well-known actors who made an appearance in The Hunger Games films is Jeffrey Wright. He portrayed James Bond's friend Felix Leiter in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and No Time to Die, and he starred in The Batman alongside Robert Pattinson. He's also part of the ensemble cast of Asteroid City.
Wright appeared in Catching Fire and both parts of Mockingjay. He played the role of Beetee, who was first introduced in Catching Fire as the male Tribute from District 3; he would later work for the rebels in the war against Panem's tyrannical Capitol. Beetee is a poindexter with a kind, sensitive disposition, and Wright proved to be a great fit for the role.
Beetee Is a Former Hunger Games Victor From District 3
Beetee comes from District 3, which is Panem's technology sector. Similar to many of the other citizens of District 3, Beetee is not particularly strong, but he's a genius when it comes to electronics, earning the nickname Volts from Johanna Mason. He's a former Hunger Games Victor, who won by gathering electronic supplies from the Cornucopia and creating an electronic trap that killed the remaining Tributes, which surprised the Gamemakers as the odds aren't typically in the District 3 Tributes' favor.
In Catching Fire, he's chosen to participate in the 75th Hunger Games. Every 25 years, the Capitol holds a special edition of the Games called the Quarter Quell, and for the third Quarter Quell, the Tributes are to be chosen from every District's existing pool of Victors. Thanks to his gentle demeanor -- which Wright masterfully portrays -- and the way he looks after the meek Wiress, who also comes from District 3, Beetee immediately gains Katniss' trust, and they form an alliance. Little does Katniss know that Haymitch actually instructed Beetee to form an alliance with her so that he can protect her and Peeta in the arena. Having Beetee as her ally proves to be vital; he uses his knowledge of electronics and wiring to destroy the arena. He ends up getting wounded by Enobaria, the female Tribute from District 2, but he successfully manages to destroy the arena. At the end of Catching Fire, double agent Plutarch Heavensbee rescues Beetee along with Katniss and Finnick and takes them to District 13.
Beetee Shows His Ruthless Side in Mockingjay
While Beetee starts off as a soft-spoken technical genius in Catching Fire, he becomes more bloodthirsty in Mockingjay. He works for the rebels by building weapons and cooking up military strategies with Gale, but he starts to do so without considering the potential collateral damage. For example, Gale proposes a plan to blow up the inside of the Nut in District 2, which would kill everyone inside, including innocent people who have nothing to do with the war. Beetee is reluctant at first, but he ends up agreeing with it. Along with Gale, he also creates the bomb that ends up killing Primrose Everdeen.
What likely happened is that Beetee grew jaded after all the terrible things that happened to him. First, he's forced back into the Hunger Games despite being promised a life of prosperity and peace, then he loses Wiress, a very close friend, and finally, he ends up with a serious injury that confines him to a wheelchair. Everything that happened to him made him more bloodthirsty, which is not surprising as many people in his shoes would feel the same way. War can bring out the ruthless side in almost anyone, and Beetee's arc in the franchise illustrates that. In Mockingjay, he constantly treads the fine line between doing what is necessary in a war scenario and being flat-out ruthless. Working with Gale, who arguably loses his sense of humanity over the course of the series, also brings out Beetee's underlying brutality.
In the end, however, Beetee manages to retain his humanity when he votes against holding a Hunger Games for the Capitol children, stating that the Capitol and the Districts need to stop viewing each other as enemies and unite in order to survive. It's also likely that Wiress would have voted against it as well, so it's very possible that Beetee was also taking her into consideration when he voted. Overall, Beetee becomes more hardened, but his empathetic side comes back to the forefront when the war comes to a close.