Christopher Michael "Chris" Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. He is known for television roles, including Bright Abbott in Everwood, and Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation. His early film career began with supporting roles in mainstream films such as Wanted, Bride Wars, Jennifer's Body, Moneyball, What's Your Number?, The Five-Year Engagement, Zero Dark Thirty, Movie 43, Delivery Man and Her before achieving leading man status in 2014 with the blockbuster films The Lego Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy. He will appear in Jurassic World, the continuation of the popular Jurassic Park franchise. In 2014, Pratt was ranked as #2 on People magazine's annual list of Sexiest Men Alive.

Early life

Chris Pratt was born June 21, 1979 in Virginia, Minnesota, the son of Kathy (née Indahl), who worked at a Safeway supermarket, and Dan Pratt, who died in June 2014, and who worked in gold mining and later remodeling houses. Pratt was raised in Lake Stevens, Washington, where he placed fifth in a state wrestling tournament as a high school student. His wrestling coach recalled asking Pratt what he wished to do with his life. Pratt relates, "I was like, 'I don't know, but I know I'll be famous and I know I'll make a shit ton of money.' I had no idea how. I'd done nothing proactive. It was as dumb as someone saying, 'I'll probably be an astronaut. I'm sure I'll stumble into an astronaut suit and end up in space one day.'"

Pratt dropped out of a local community college after one semester, and after working as a coupon salesman and a day time stripper, he ended up homeless in Maui, sleeping in a van and in a tent on the beach. Pratt 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." Pratt recalled listening to the Dr. Dre album 2001 daily to the point where he knew "every word to that album". Years later he was able to perform Eminem's vocals from the song "Forgot About Dre" extemporaneously during an interview.

Career

Pratt was waiting tables at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant in Maui when the 19-year-old was discovered by actor-director Rae Dawn Chong. She cast him in her directorial debut, the horror film Cursed Part 3, which was filmed in Los Angeles. Pratt's first regular television role was on the series Everwood, where he co-starred as Harold Brighton "Bright" Abbott.

After Everwood '​s cancellation, Pratt joined the cast of The O.C. for its fourth season, playing Winchester "Ché" Cook, an activist. He also had an appearance in the 2008 action film Wanted. He read for the lead role of Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, and for Jake Sully in James Cameron's Avatar, but did not get either part. The latter audition was particularly humbling for Pratt, who recalls, "They said they want somebody that has 'that thing', that 'It factor'. I walked into that room knowing that I did not have that thing, and I walked out thinking I would never have that thing, probably." Pratt resolved to rethink his career ambitions, commenting, "I figured, I'll find a way to make money and if that means I'm playing character roles, that's terrific. People have to work. I just don't want it to be at a fucking restaurant."

Pratt met his future wife, Anna Faris while filming Take Me Home Tonight in 2007 (though Universal Studios did not release the film until 2011).

In 2009, Pratt began portraying the dimwitted but lovable Andy Dwyeron the NBC TV series Parks and Recreation. Originally meant to be a temporary character, Andy was so likable that producers asked Pratt back as a series regular. This led to the character being written much more sympathetically at the start of season two.

Breakthrough

In 2013, Pratt initially turned down the opportunity to play Peter Quill in Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy, explaining, "I didn't want another Captain Kirk or Avatar moment." Guardians casting director Sarah Finn suggested Pratt to director James Gunn, who had struggled to cast that role and dismissed the idea. Despite this, Finn arranged for a meeting between the two, at which point Gunn was immediately convinced that Pratt was perfect for the role. Pratt also won over Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, despite having gained weight again for the Vince Vaughn comedy Delivery Man. The role was part of a multi-film deal that Pratt signed with Marvel.

In March 2014, Pratt was awarded the CinemaCon Award for Breakthrough Performer.

Although Pratt had been known until that point for playing supporting characters, and was best known as his portly Parks & Rec character, that changed in 2014, when he headlined two feature films, the first of which was The Lego Movie, in which he played lead character Emmet Brickowski. The film became the third-highest-grossing film of 2014. This was followed that August by Guardians of the Galaxy, which became the highest-grossing film of 2014, making Pratt the star of two of the top three highest-grossing films of that year. Pratt was the featured cover story of the July 18 Entertainment Weekly, which documented the evolution of Pratt's physique over the course of the previous 12 years, going from 220 lbs. for his role on Everwood to 295 lbs. for Delivery Man, to 225-230 lbs. for his roles in Zero Dark Thirty and Guardians.

Personal life

Pratt met actress Anna Faris on the set of the film Take Me Home Tonight in 2007. Pratt and Faris were engaged two years later. They married in Bali on July 9, 2009. In August 2012 their son Jack was born.

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