As the star of the expected box-office hit of the summer, Jurassic World, 35-year old Chris Pratt is on a roll. But he’s staying humble.
Last year, Chris Pratt turned movie star and box-office gold. The Lego Movie – in which he voiced the character Emmet earned about $470 million worldwide and Guardians of the Galaxy in which he played his first hero role raked in around $775 million. “I am really full of joy,” says Chris Pratt about riding his wave of success. “It is a very nice time for me right now. I just love being able to work on movies that meant so much to me as a kid. Jurassic World is part of a franchise that is very sacred to me, so I am just hoping that everybody goes out to see it.”
The star of the box-office powerhouses takes nothing for granted and keeps it real with a humble attitude about his new A-list status. Being on the cover of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly and Esquire does not impress the new star either. “Nothing has really changed in the way that I look at myself,” says Chris, who was previously mostly known for his roles in TV comedy fare such as Parks and Recreation. “Part of getting people riled up about movies like this is putting stars on magazine covers and that is just part of the business and how it works. It’s fun and there are a few moments that are exciting and surreal. And you just want to try to be present.” Pratt, who packed on 60 pounds to play a lawyer alongside Vince Vaughn in Delivery Man and was hired as a chubby guy in Parks and Recreation, slimmed down and showed off a six pack in Guardians of the Galaxy. He is also buff in Jurassic Park. “I think you just have to stay closer to being in great shape,” says Chris Pratt about his new body image. “Usually I would be in good shape for a role, and I would have a few months off and I would just completely binge and drink and eat my face off and just gain like 30 pounds and it would be great. But then I would have to lose all that weight for the next job. So, for me it’s important to just kind of keep the wavelength like this.”
It has been 22 years since Pratt saw Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park – the movie that started the franchise he is now proud to be part of – in a small cinema in Marysville, Washington. “I was so excited to see that movie. It was truly an event. I was 13 when Jurassic Park came out, so it was very much part of shaping who I would become.”
The actor recalls the event very clearly. He was on a date with a slightly younger girl. His mother and her best friend, Elaine, had set them up. “They really wanted us to get married,” says Chris Pratt about his date with his very young friend, Jessie. “They were drinking buddies and pals and wanted to hang out all the time. And they sat right behind us. It was very strange.”
However, the young couple immediately forgot that they were on an awkward date and were fully immersed in Steven Spielberg’s exciting world of dinosaurs. “Like all kids I was fascinated by dinosaurs,” says Chris Pratt, who ended up starring in the fourth movie. “It’s endlessly fascinating for adults and kids. It sparks your imagination. It’s impossible to fathom that creatures walked the earth that were seven stories tall. “
TC