By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
When you think about it, very few Hollywood stars are quite as lucky as Chris Pratt. He rose to fame playing a chubby, goofy guy on Parks and Recreation, and he seemed like he had a rich life of sitcom success ahead of him. Most working actors would already consider that something akin to winning the lottery. However, his star rose that much higher when he was cast as Star-Lord, the wisecracking leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Pratt was no longer a schlubby TV star; he was now a buff, beloved film star destined to headline one weird action movie after another.
Obviously, being cast in Guardians of the Galaxy completely changed Pratt’s life. Because of that, many fans have a mental image of him practically begging James Gunn for a part in his sci-fi comedy franchise. As it turns out, though, that mental image is completely incorrect. Recently, one of Marvel’s most prominent casting directors revealed something shocking: Pratt never wanted to audition for Star-Lord, and he was so unenthused that James Gunn came close to hiring another actor!
From Chud To Chad
There was a small mountain of Marvel news at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, including announcements for exciting upcoming films like Ghost Rider and Black Panther 3. Because of that flurry of exciting news, most fans missed a fun anecdote from Marvel casting director Sarah Halley Finn. Appearing on The Brandon Davis Show, she began discussing the Marvel role that Chris Pratt wanted more than anything else: Steve Rogers. He didn’t get the role, but his audition for that film was good enough that she earmarked him for future projects.
“He did a speech which was not comedic at all, it was kind of a rallying cry,” she said. “I don’t think this particular [speech] ended up in [Captain America: The First Avenger]. He’s trying to inspire and encourage somebody to move forward with courage. It was really simple, it was very heartfelt. There was just that touch of nobility you want to see in your heroes.” All of this earmarked him as a major future talent. “After that audition, I was paying attention.”
The Role He Never Wanted
You can probably guess the next part: she insisted that Pratt audition for the role of Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy. Finn was enthusiastic about his chances, but the Parks and Rec star was having none of it. “I was stuck on him,” Finn said. “He didn’t want to audition for that at all… I was so persistent to the point of being annoying. Even at that point, James Gunn was convinced he wasn’t right and didn’t want to see him.” Eventually, of course, everything changed: Pratt found his passion for the part, and Gunn found his Star-Lord.
What’s interesting about this story, though, is that it punctures a hole in one of the MCU’s biggest myths. Historically, the narrative has been that Gunn wanted Pratt for the part right away; in fact, he told Dax Shepard that only “12 seconds” after meeting the actor, he knew he’d be perfect for Star-Lord. That may have been true after he finally met the man. But thanks to Finn, we know that Pratt hated the idea of auditioning for another Marvel movie so much that he almost missed out on a career-defining role.
Fortunately, the stars aligned for the talented actor. He eventually put on his big boy pants and auditioned, and he quickly won over James Gunn. After that, the rest is history for Chris Pratt, whose Star-Lord character headlined three Guardians of the Galaxy movies while making fun appearances in everything from Avengers: Infinity War to Thor: Love and Thunder. Now, his character is somewhat retired and chilling on Earth. But whenever someone needs him, we’re confident this Marvel hero will come running right away.
Unless, of course, what they need him for is an audition.
