The Truth About Chris Pratt, Starlord, And A Planet Of Outlaws

Having watched Chris Pratt in numerous roles, I had formed a clear image of what to expect from him. To my delight, Chris Pratt exceeded all expectations during my recent interview with him. True to his reputation, he exuded the same humorous, carefree charm that I had anticipated. Meeting him felt like catching up with an old friend; he’s someone you could easily envision sharing a dinner table with, where laughter takes precedence over the meal itself.

My interview experience with Chris Pratt was fantastic. It felt like we spent most of our time together in fits of laughter rather than focusing solely on the questions and answers. His responses were humorous and revealed his incredibly down-to-earth personality, making the entire conversation incredibly enjoyable and engaging.

During our interview, one of the questions we asked Chris Pratt was whether he experienced any additional pressure or responsibility in assuming the role of the prominent figurehead of a burgeoning franchise.

I guess if I was smart, I would feel pressure on both of them, but I kind of don’t.

This line of inquiry naturally led us to inquire about Chris Pratt’s pre-existing affinity for the Guardians of the Galaxy before he took on the role and his familiarity with the characters and storyline. Furthermore, we explored his broader interest in comic books and whether he had been a genre fan before his involvement in the film.

I think it was maybe sixth grade on I was a fan of comic books. I didn’t have a lot, like we didn’t- we- we didn’t have a ton of money growing up.  Comic books are actually not expensive, but if you’re broke everything is expensive, so  I didn’t have a ton of them.  I would like to draw the pictures.  I loved the artistry, I loved the characters and what they were, I loved the physicality of the heroes. I just like was a big fan of that and was always drawing comic book heroes.

There was one time that I won three hundred bucks playing Bingo with my mom and bought three hundred bucks worth of comic books and one of them was a Guardians of the Galaxy comic book.  For me, the stories weren’t what grabbed me, it was the covers and it was the cool art on the inside and the outside.  

Some of the comics that I had were Ghost Rider, the one with the glow in the dark cover, Bart Man number one, a stack of Richie Riches I got at a garage sale, a big stack of Conan, Icon that had the Infinity gauntlets, some Spider Man, some X-Men, some Wolverine, a lot of Punisher Twenty-ninety-nine.

The story surrounding how Chris landed this role was fascinating and provided a glimpse into his relatable, down-to-earth nature, showcasing that he is fundamentally just like any ordinary person.

Marvel had circled around me and said what about letting Chris audition for this role for Guardians of the Galaxy. Meanwhile I was like, on the diet roller coaster all the time, so sometimes I was super fat and sometimes I was super fit. At that point, I was super fat and I was like, oh god, I don’t want to go audition for this and be told no, so, no, I don’t think so. The couple of times they asked me and I wasn’t sure about it. I know James Gunn definitely wasn’t interested in having me in the movie at first (at this point, Chris laughed). I was having an identity crisis of who I was as an actor.

I think he was about who his Peter Quinn was going to be and meanwhile he was testing more and more people and it just wasn’t working. I saw the movie Zero Dark Thirty in the theaters for the first time. I kind of forgot that I had gotten in good shape for that. I was like, oh my gosh, that’s right, I can do that. When I saw it, I had already put on like forty pounds in like a month after shooting, and I thought wait a minute, maybe I should be trying to do action-y kind of movies. Until seeing that movie, I had kind of forgotten that I had done that or I didn’t know I was capable of that. I said let’s go after it. That’s how I got in. Then James was like, Chris, hey look- it’s Chris.

Following that, we asked about his thoughts regarding the profound impact of knowing that he has become an iconic hero.

That is to me the greatest part of all this.  I remember pretending to be Han Solo in my backyard, or pretending to be Indiana Jones, or Luke Skywalker as a kid.  Comic books and storytelling of this magnitude is what really helped me cultivate my imagination as a young kid.  To think that kids are going to be out there, and they’re going to watch this and they’re going to feel that way . . . It’s just really I mean, I’ve been Googling synonyms for surreal just to try to help explain what it feels like. 

It’s really cool. I think to me that’s by far the very greatest feeling is that I’m going to be a hero to these kids. They’re going to dress up like StarLord, yes?

This led us to inquire about Chris Pratt’s thoughts on having an action figure modeled after him. His response made me laugh.

That to me is pretty crazy and pretty weird. My friend has a Peter Quill doll that you push a button and- and my voice comes out of it. My friends treat me like Flat Stanley.  Everywhere they go, they’re taking pictures of my doll and are like, “oh look at Star Lord at Subway”.

I can definitely relate to that through my husband’s friends who would be just as enthusiastic! Given the amazing soundtrack of Guardians of the Galaxy, we were curious to know Chris’s favorite song from it.

I have a contentious relationship with that soundtrack, because I put it on my iPod as my list to run and work out to.  I love and hate all of those songs. For me, the best one was probably Ooh Child because there was certain beats per minute that matched with my running pace. When I’m running, I need to match my feet to the music, so I can forget how terrible it is that I’m running.

After that, we inquired about Chris’s favorite behind-the-scenes moment while making the film.

James (Gunn) kept telling me over and over that he was going to replace me. (At this point, he laughed).  It kind of became an ongoing joke that he kept pitching different ideas for actors who he was going to put their face on my face at the end of the movie.  I never was offended by it, and I thought it was funny every time he said it.  That was really kind of my favorite part about filming this movie was the relationship I had with James.

In terms of our comedy, it matched up really well. It’s super inappropriate, and we’re constantly trying to outdo one another in, in terms of our inappropriateness. (He laughed again at this point). 

Then we asked about how much creative freedom he was given to improvise during the filming process.

We had a little room. When you’re shooting on a movie like this, you’ve got to think in terms of seconds.  Seconds will cost thousands of dollars.  They roll that film and it is costing money. If you’re going to improv, you better nail it.  If you blow a take trying a joke that no one knew about and you just kind of spit it out, you’re wasting time and money .

So that being said, I did improv a lot  and I probably wasted a lot of money. (He laughed again.)  Some of it made it into the movie and maybe it was worth it.

My interview with Chris Pratt was not only insightful but also incredibly enjoyable. Each of his answers revealed his down-to-earth personality and genuine passion for his craft. His candid and humorous responses left a lasting impression, showcasing a side of him that resonates both on-screen and off-screen. It was a privilege to gain such valuable insights, which made this interview a memorable and enriching experience.