Today, Chris Pratt is considered one of the most well-known actors on the planet thanks to unforgettable roles in movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World; but at one point not all that long ago, the go-to action star was best known for his portrayal of Andy Dwyer on NBC’s decorated comedy series, Parks and Recreation.
Around the time Pratt was preparing to make the jump to superstardom and appear in one of the best Marvel movies, and when his fun-loving character was at the peak of his popularity, the actor had to leave Pawnee behind for a short while and miss a chunk of the show’s sixth season.
So, why wasn’t Andy around with the other members of the Parks and Recreation cast during the show’s 2013-2014 season? We're about to get into that, including how his absence impacted the series...
Andy Dwyer Wasn't Around Because Chris Pratt Was Filming Guardians Of The Galaxy
Chris Pratt’s character was one of the biggest attractions on Parks and Recreation throughout its first few seasons (though he only became a main role starting with Season 2), and so it was surprising to hear that the man who formerly lived in a pit wouldn’t be around that much in the Fall 2013 season. There was a good reason for that: Guardians of the Galaxy.
During a TCA panel (via HuffPost) in August 2013, the show’s executive producer, Michael Schur said Pratt would only be in three of the first nine episodes because the actor was in London fulfilling his duties for his debut as Star-Lord, which would land in theaters exactly one year later. Oddly enough, Pratt, who had been dying to join the MCU before GOTG, apparently didn’t initially want to play the part of Peter Quill. What a world that would have been, both for him and all of us.
The Show Had To Work Around Chris Pratt’s Absence
With Chris Pratt being unavailable for an extended period of time so that he could fulfill his Guardians of the Galaxy duties, Michal Schur and company had to find a way to explain Andy Dwyer’s absence during a large chunk of the first half of Parks and Recreation Season 6. Little did anyone know at the time, the superhero business would not only lead to a clever way to temporarily write off Pratt’s character, it would also introduce one of the show’s funniest random characters: Peter Serafinowicz’s Edgar Covington.
In CinemaBlend’s breakdown of the Season 6 premiere, we pointed out that Andy went to London to woo a British lord (Seranfinowicz’s character) to help launch his Sweetum’s music charity. The two characters immediately hit it off thanks to both having manchild tendencies as well as a shared fondness of model helicopters, resulting in Andy sticking around to work with him for a bit. Andy would remain in London off-screen for numerous episodes, until the Pawnee native would eventually return to his old stomping grounds for good during the season’s 10th episode.
Though we would only see the two characters for a short while on Parks and Recreation, the two actors would share the screen again the following year when Seranfinowicz played Denarian Garthan Saal in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Production Temporarily Moved To England So Pratt Could Be In The Season 6 Premiere
The whole “Andy in London” storyline wasn’t just some random occurrence, but instead a conscious decision with a good reason behind it: Chris Pratt was already across the pond when it was time to shoot the show’s sixth season. During the TCA Panel mentioned earlier, Michael Schur explained that the Parks and Recreation cast and crew flew over to London to shoot the first two episodes of the season just so that Pratt was able to be in the premiere, which saw him trying out his best British accents.
So not only did the two-part "London" Season 6 premiere give Andy an excuse to be in London, but it also viewers to see some of the other characters enjoying some time in London and away from Pawnee.
Judging from a series of tweets by the cast and crew (via BuzzFeed), it looks like they had a remarkable time making the most of the situation while filming abroad for those first few episodes.
Parks And Rec Also Had To Explain Andy’s Remarkable Weight Loss
A few months after Chris Pratt was cast as Star-Lord, the actor revealed in a series of photos that he was getting in the best shape of his life, which was good for everyone except his slightly out-of-shape and beer-enthusiastic character on Parks and Recreation. There was just one problem: Andy Dwyer wasn’t a lean, mean, Thanos-killing machine. Or, at least he wasn’t during the show’s first five seasons.
To explain how Andy went from a slightly out of shape slacker to a guy with a six-pack and chiseled muscles, Michael Schur and company came up with a simple yet hilarious revelation: he simply stopped drinking beer for a month and lost 50 pounds. In reality, Pratt dropped 60 pounds in six months, per Muscle and Fitness, which is just as impressive.
Despite The Scheduling Conflicts, Pratt Never Thought About Leaving Parks & Recreation
In the years that followed the whole situation, Chris Pratt became a bonafide A-lister thanks to being part of two of the most popular film franchises of all time. Even then, with the fame, scheduling conflicts, and everything else going on in his career, Pratt told the TCA (via IGN) in January 2015 that he never had thoughts on leaving the Parks and Recreation, stating:
Oh, man, it’s funny that you would ask that because it never once occurred to me… I’ve never even asked myself the question. That was never… That would never happen. I would never f**king ever leave this show!
Later on in the panel, which also included former co-stars Aziz Ansari and Amy Poehler, Pratt got real about his love for the show and actors he shared the screen with over the years, saying:
You know, I’ve been in this business for 15 years, and I’m realizing the things that really matter about what you’re doing, for me at least, are just the relationships you have while you’re doing it. And for me, this show… I mean, I hope that I could possibly have the good fortune of finding another group of people like this, but I don’t expect I ever will. I don’t care how much money someone would offer me or what I could be offered, I wouldn’t abandon ship. There’s no f**king way.
Pratt would stick around on the show until the series came to an end at the conclusion of its seventh season. There would be a reunion special in April 2020, which saw the return of some of the most beloved characters.
Nearly a decade after the final Parks and Recreation episode aired, Andy Dwyer (both before and after losing 50 pounds by giving up beer for a month) remains one of Chris Pratt’s best roles. If you want to go back and relive all of Andy’s best moments as well as the show’s best episodes, you can do both right now with a Peacock Premium subscription.
