It's hard to imagine anyone wouldn't want Chris Pratt in their movie, but before the Passengers star became our favorite Hollywood hero, he was a struggling actor. In fact, he was even rejected from roles, including in one specific instance where he was told that he was "too overweight" to play the part.
According to an interview in Vanity Fair, Pratt audition for the 2011 film Moneyball, but was turned away.
“That was the first time I heard someone say, ‘We’re not gonna cast you — you’re too fat,” he explained in the magazine’s February cover story. “So I decided to drop the weight, like in wrestling. I couldn’t afford a trainer, so it was all running and crash-dieting and cutting alcohol.”
The first time the actor changed his body for a role was when he played Justin in Zero Dark Thirty, a SEAL Team Six soldier. When he saw himself in that role, his mind was blown.
“I was like, My God, I buy that guy,” he said. “I’m SEAL Team Six in that movie, and I felt like it was real. I can do this. I can play those roles.”
Even so, he wasn't confident when the opportunity to audition for Guardians Of The Galaxy came around. " I did not want to go in and embarrass myself," he said. But he nailed it. "Once you get smart about auditioning, you learn to audition before they say ‘Action.’ You walk into the room as the character. You let them think the person you are is close to the character they want. You make them think you already are that guy."
Now, Pratt is pretty much every guy. Father, husband, actor, and our favorite person to follow on Instagram.
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