As movie careers go, Chris Pratt ’s has been a monster success.
The star of Jurassic World has left a T-Rex-sized footprint on Hollywood. There’s plenty more to come, of course.
But Chris – back on our big screens in Jurassic World Dominion, the last of the dino movies – can barely believe his soaraway success.
The 42-year-old, married to Arnold Schwarzenegger ’s daughter, Katherine, watched the original versions as a teen.
He went to see Jurassic Park twice and admits: “I had no idea I would be an actor, let alone share the screen with these incredible actors. It is pretty surreal.”
Chris got his big break in 2003 when he was spotted by rookie director Rae Dawn Chong while working as a waiter at a shrimp restaurant in Hawaii.
Chong gave him a role in Cursed Part III, which was her directorial debut. While the movie was never released, it helped Pratt realise his acting ambitions.
He got $700 and admits failure during his early years and ridiculous auditions made him stronger.
Chris says: “In my decade of uncertainty I was auditioning for anything. Just the fact of getting an audition was a huge win.
“And my manager, Bonnie Owens, she would send me for things I could never get.
“I was ambitious and eager and I learned the process of learning and I loved it and it defined everything about me.
“I would obsess for two weeks on the lines. It was a fine time of uncertainty. Every call back was a win.”
Chris rose to fame on TV and was a cult figure as Andy Dwyer in NBC’s sitcom Parks and Recreation. Roles in hit films Zero Dark Thirty and Delivery Man followed.
Then, in 2014, he landed the prized part of Star-Lord in Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy.
He was back for the sequel and two Avengers films. But three Jurassic World movies are his career highlight.
And he loves to grab a souvenir, admitting: “I kept a tooth from the original... I cannot smuggle a dinosaur off set!”
Chris loved filming with original Jurassic Park stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum. And off-screen, he says he “couldn’t be happier”.
He and Katherine have just had their second child and he adds: “I feel blessed, full of joy. It feels great. I’m very excited. We will have a lot of diapers and it will be a really fun summer.”
