The exact moment Chris Pratt realised he was a movie star: “I had been having nightmares”
The role that brought Chris Pratt to the dance was Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation, a bumbling manchild who helped propel that show to legendary status, and he could have leaned into this and made a lot of money doing the rounds in sitcoms and comedy films, but somebody saw potential in him as an action star, changing his life forever.
Even hardcore comic book fans were left scratching their heads when it was announced that Marvel would be making a movie about the Guardians of the Galaxy, where Pratt was cast as Peter ‘Star-Lord’ Quill, who was kind of like Andy Dwyer if he lived in a gym and could fly.
To the surprise of everyone, James Gunn’s film wasn’t just a delight, it was a hit, making over $773million at the box office, the third highest-grossing film of 2014. Even Marvel sceptics were converted by its mix of humour, action, and incredible music, which spawned two standalone sequels, and the Guardians became an integral part of Marvel’s epic ‘Infinity Saga’.
As it turns out, not even the stars of the film could have predicted the incredible success of Guardians of the Galaxy, as Pratt revealed, speaking to HuffPost, that he was incredibly nervous prior to the film’s release.
“I had been having nightmares that it was terrible,” he admitted, “I had a hunch we were doing something special, but you don’t know if you’re deluding yourself by having those feelings. You have to lower your expectations so that you’re not heartbroken if the movie comes out different.”
Marvel had been on a generational run up to this point. They had recently wrapped up their first ‘phase’ of movies and had established Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor as characters who could confidently lead their own films, with the Guardians the first new group of heroes to get the big screen treatment.
The version of the team that appeared in the film had only debuted in comic form six years earlier. It was a huge risk to give them such a high-profile position and could have stopped the entire series dead in its tracks.
It wasn’t until he saw the finished product that Pratt was finally able to put his fears to bed. “I was just so relieved when I saw it,” he said, “I loved it. I could tell it was very, very special”. He was absolutely right.
Not only did Guardians of the Galaxy change the game for Marvel, it began an entirely new era of Pratt’s career. After proving his swashbuckling capabilities, he landed a gig in the new Jurassic World franchise, and he is now one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, as well as one of the highest-paid. His performances haven’t always been stellar (in fact, they seem to be getting worse), but I’m sure his accountant couldn’t care less.
