CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL PRATT, born June 21, 1979 in Virginia Minnesota, U.S. dropped out of community college halfway through the first semester and worked as a discount ticket salesman and daytime stripper. Then, he ended up homeless in Maui, Hawaii, working the minimal hours to afford food and supplies. Then, he became a waiter and then... he became Chris Pratt, the actor!
Just like I mentioned in a previous poster, let's celebrate 10 years of MCU and the massive worldwide success of Avengers: Infinity War by having a look at its main cast members careers and major acting achievements.
Here's a small study on Chris Pratt's fresh career in 5 movies / moments:
- PARKS AND RECREATION (2009-2015, TV series)
I don't have TV series under consideration here at Cinema and Popcorn, but there's no way to deny the impact of Parks and Recreation TV series in Pratt's career. Set for a guest role, Andy Dwyer, Pratt's talent and "likeability" convinced the producers to expand his character so he could become a series regular. And while there was no Emmy recognition or any Golden Globe nomination, he got a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and started building a name in Hollywood. Now, as a movie star, it stills impossible not to relate Pratt with the TV series that featured his breakthrough character.
- PRESTIGE PICTURES - MONEYBALL (2011), ZERO DARK THIRTY (2012) and HER (2013)
Pratt began is big-screen movie career with some lesser movies like Bride Wars, Jennifer's Body or a small part in Wanted, but then he appeared in a trio of Best Picture-nominated movies which added some prestige to his resumè. In Moneyball, he played Scott Hatteberg, a father and dejected baseball player who had to learn a new defensive position - a dramatic part that felt fresh on Pratt given his past of purely comedic roles. In 2012, he portrayed a Navy SEAL who was part of the team that was chasing Bin Laden in Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty... and while the movie wasn't an acting showcase for Pratt, it was the movie people were most impressed by his physical changes (he lost several pounds in order to get the part) and it was another profitable additiion to his resumé (the movie grossed over $132M at the box-office worldwide). And, finally, he had a supporting part in Spike Jonze's Her, as Joaquin Phoenix's character's co-worker... Not a great role, but, once again, but he was in another Best Picture-nominated movie.
- MCU'S HIGHLIGHT - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014)
The third highest-grossing movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by 2014 (only 2012's The Avengers and 2013's Iron Man 3 grossed more than Guardians), Guardians of the Galaxy got a warm reception from both audiences and critics. It earned $333.2M at domestic box-office and more than $440M in other countries, for a worldwide total of $773.2M. It got rave reviews from critics, who praised the comedic tone, the production values, visual effects and the ensemble cast, specially Chris Pratt's performance. In fact, it is a winning performance: Pratt has never been more charismatic, more funny or more magnetic - his Star Lord / Peter Quill is the obvious ingredient that brings joy to the screen. Besides the critical and box-office success, Guardians of the Galaxy scored two Academy Award nominations (Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup & Hair), two BAFTA Awards nods, five Critics Choice Awards nominations (winning Best Action Movie and Best Makeup) and nine Saturn Awards nominations. For his performance, Pratt won a Saturn Award for Best Actor and he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor in an Action Movie.
If Guardians of the Galaxy was any indicator for Pratt's upcoming success, truth is Jurassic World was a huge success. Thanks to this movie, he became the star of 2 major multi-million dollar franchises. The movie met good reviews, with critics praising Pratt's commanding performance and the visual effects and it became a huge box-office success: it grossed a worldwide total of $1.672 billion from a $150M budget, ranking fifth among the highest-grossing films of all time and it was the second-highest-grossing film of 2015 and the highest-grossing in the franchise. And Chris Pratt's star keeps on the rise!
- A SERIES OF BOX-OFFICE HITS - PASSENGERS (2016), GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL. 2 (2017), AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018) and JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (2018)
Chris Pratt entered 2018 with the "bankable actor" status after the commercial success of Passengers (2016) and the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel (2017). In spite of poor reviews, Passengers score good box-office numbers, with audiences claiming the presence of Pratt and Lawrence as the key elements that led them to see the movie - it scored only 31% of positive reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, but grossed $303.1M worldwide (from a $150M budget). Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 was considered to be not as fresh as the first installment of the series, but it was elevated by the four lead performances and a much more dramatic/sensitive/touching tone and it became another critical and box-office success for Chris Pratt and for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It suprassed the first movie in terms of box-office ($863.8M overall) and scored 2 Academy Award nominations (Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup & Hair, just like the first one).
Pratt reprised the role of Peter Quill/Star Lord in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), one of the most expensive movies ever made (an estimated budget of $400M), but the fourth-highest-grossing movie of all time (more than $2 Billion worldwide) - and it was well-received by critics. The same year, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom arrived movie theatres: another box-office success ($1.305 Billion) and a moderate critical success (mixed reviews, but high praise for the visuals and the action).
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