Chris Pratt

Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor and film producer. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.1 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing film stars of all time. Pratt was one of the world's highest-paid actors annually from 2015 to 2017. Through starring in blockbuster franchises and big-budget films, he has established himself as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.

Pratt began his film career with minor roles before securing a starring role in the drama series Everwood (2002–2006). He had his breakthrough role as Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation (2009–2015). Pratt received global recognition and established himself as a leading actor by portraying Star-Lord in six films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). He achieved further critical and commercial success by portraying Owen Grady in the first three films of the Jurassic World franchise (2015–2022). Pratt's other starring roles include the Western action film The Magnificent Seven (2016), the science fiction film Passengers (2016), and the military science-fiction action film The Tomorrow War (2021). He has also voiced characters in animated films like The Lego Movie franchise (2014–2019), Onward (2020), The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), and The Garfield Movie (2024).

Pratt was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2015, and appeared in Forbes' Celebrity 100 in 2016. Often regarded as a sex symbol, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. Since February 2020, Pratt has owned the production company Indivisible Productions; its first project, The Terminal List, made him one of the highest-paid television actors, earning $1.4 million per episode.

Early life and education

Christopher Michael Pratt was born in the city of Virginia, Minnesota, on June 21, 1979. His mother, Kathleen Louise "Kathy" (née Indahl), worked at a Safeway supermarket, while his father, Daniel Clifton Pratt, held various jobs, including mining and home remodeling. He has two older siblings: a sister, Angie, and a brother, Daniel "Cully" Pratt. Pratt has cited his brother Cully as one of his biggest influences and credits him as the reason he started acting. When Pratt was two or three years old, his father uprooted the family to Anchorage, Alaska, where they lived for the next few years. Concerned that raising children in Alaska was too dangerous due to the presence of bears, the family entered a period of instability, relocating between twenty homes across the United States in search of job opportunities.

When Pratt was six or seven years old, the family eventually settled in the Seattle suburb of Lake Stevens, Washington. In an interview with The Huffington Post, Pratt recalled a family vacation on a cruise where he and his brother entered a dance competition, earning him a third-place prize. As a child, he frequently danced to hip-hop music, the dance drama film Saturday Night Fever (1977), and Michael Jackson. Pratt was a frequent reader of comic books, having once won $300 in a bingo tournament and spending it all on comics. He once shared with the Los Angeles Times that his home featured a lot of art, saying, "I would try to copy these exceptional artists who could just draw male and female figures", and recalled that the walls were covered in comic book-style murals. As a teenager, Pratt showed an interest in music, listening to pop musicians like the Beatles and rappers like Tupac Shakur and Mos Def; he has cited Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash as his biggest musical influences. Around this time he began playing the guitar.

Pratt finished fifth in a state wrestling tournament during high school and competed in shot put on the track and field team. Reflecting on that time, he recalled telling his wrestling coach, "I don't know what I want to do, but I know I'll be famous and I'll make a shit ton of money". He added, "I had no idea how. I'd done nothing proactive". He graduated from Lake Stevens High School in 1997. Pratt dropped out of community college midway through his first semester and took on various jobs, including selling discount tickets and briefly working as a daytime stripper. He eventually found himself homeless in Maui, Hawaii, living out of a van and a tent on the beach. Retrospectively, he told The Independent, "It's a pretty awesome place to be homeless. We just drank and smoked weed and worked minimal hours [...] just enough to cover gas, food, and fishing supplies". While in Maui, he also worked with the Christian missionary group Jews for Jesus.

Career

2000–2013: Early roles and breakthrough

At nineteen years old, while working as a waiter at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company in Maui, Pratt was discovered by actress and director Rae Dawn Chong. Impressed by his charisma, she cast him in her directorial debut—a short horror film titled Cursed Part 3 (2000), in which he played Devon. According to Chong, Pratt arrived on set "early and completely prepared", and his performance "blew everyone away". Pratt credits Cursed Part 3 with teaching him the fundamentals of acting, stating that he has "no regrets about getting [his] start" in the film. Pratt's first regular television role was as Harold Brighton "Bright" Abbott in the series Everwood (2002–2006). In the fourth season of the teen drama television series The O.C. (2006–2007), Pratt portrayed the activist Winchester "Ché" Cook.

Pratt then portrayed Barry—Wesley's (James McAvoy) co-worker and unfaithful best friend—in the action thriller film Wanted (2008) and played Bobby in the comedy Wieners (2008). He played the fiancé of Emma (Anne Hathaway) in the romantic comedy Bride Wars (2009), the officer Roman Duda in the horror-comedy Jennifer's Body (2009), and the leading man role of Lester Watts in the romantic comedy Deep in the Valley (2009). The latter marked his first leading role in a comedy film. In 2009, Pratt began portraying Andy Dwyer on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation, a role he played until 2015. The role was initially intended as temporary, but Pratt's performance impressed the producers so much that they made him a series regular. The role ultimately became his breakthrough.

Pratt played Oakland Athletics first baseman and catcher Scott Hatteberg in the biographical sports drama film Moneyball (2011). Initially, he was told he was too overweight for the role, which he credited to the cooking of his then-girlfriend, actress Anna Faris. Determined to land the part, Pratt committed to a strict workout routine while keeping tabs on the casting process, eventually shedding 30 pounds (14 kg) within three months. Once he felt physically ready, he sent a photo to the casting director and secured the role. In Moneyball, he took on a dramatic role as a downcast baseball player and devoted father, grappling with the fear that his career was over while facing the challenging transition to a new defensive position. He regained the weight he had previously lost for his role in the high school reunion comedy 10 Years (2011), then shed it once more to portray a Navy SEAL in Zero Dark Thirty (2012).

In 2012, Pratt starred in Nicholas Stoller's romantic comedy The Five-Year Engagement. The film received mixed reviews; critic David Edelstein from Vulture stated that he had enough "sweetness to compensate for his character's adolescent japes". He later played the minor roles of Brett and Paul in the 2013 films Delivery Man and Her, respectively.

2014–2018: Worldwide recognition and blockbuster films

After previously being known primarily for supporting roles, in 2014, Pratt took on leading roles in two major studio films. In June 2012, he was cast as Emmet Brickowski in the animated adventure comedy The Lego Movie (2014). He portrayed a construction worker who must stop a tyrannical businessman from gluing the Lego universe into his own rigid vision of perfection. The film was both a critical and commercial success, receiving predominantly positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and earning $470.7 million at the global box office.