Chris Pratt is an American actor who became known for his work on 'Parks and Recreation,' before graduating to leading man status with the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Jurassic World' films.
Who Is Chris Pratt?
Chris Pratt was discovered by actress/director Rae Dawn Chong and eventually established a successful TV career, starring in series like Everwood, The O.C. and Parks and Recreation. He ventured onto the big screen as well, nabbing supporting roles in Wanted, Moneyball and Zero Dark Thirty, before enjoying success as the lead actor in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World franchises.
Early Life
Christopher Michael Pratt was born on June 21, 1979, in Virginia, Minnesota, the youngest of three siblings. He and his family later moved to Lake Stevens, Washington, and Pratt eventually began performing in plays and at a dinner theater.
He moved to Maui, Hawaii, at one point, and was working as a waiter at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company when he met actress and director Rae Dawn Chong. She liked his look and energy and cast him in the 2000 short film Cursed Part 3. This opened the door for Pratt to pursue more acting work, and he landed a role in 2002 in the series Everwood as athlete Bright Abbott, remaining with the show until its 2006 ending.
Movies and TV Shows
'The O.C.,' 'Parks and Recreation'
Pratt joined the cast of The O.C. for its last season in 2006-07, and would become known for a certain type of comedic performance for a good chunk of his screen career. He joined the Amy Poehler sitcom Parks and Recreation in a multi-episode guest spot as bumbling musician Andy Dwyer during its 2009 debut season, becoming a regular in the series’ second season. Pratt stayed with the series until its finale in 2015.
'Moneyball,' 'Zero Dark Thirty'
Pratt's early films include Strangers With Candy (2005), Wanted (2008), Jennifer’s Body (2009) and Bride Wars (2009). After playing a first baseman alongside Brad Pitt in Moneyball (2011), Pratt was seen portraying a Navy SEAL in Zero Dark Thirty (2012), the Kathryn Bigelow film starring Jessica Chastain about the mission to find terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Pratt’s acceptance of more stark dramatic fare allowed him to see himself in a new light and think about different possibilities as an actor.
Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy'
After supporting roles in 2013 fare like Delivery Man and Her, 2014 became a banner year. Pratt was heard voicing the main character in the animated The Lego Movie and then found blockbuster success with the release of the humorous sci-fi adventure Guardians of the Galaxy, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name. With co-stars like Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, Pratt played Peter Quill, introduced as a space-faring scavenger who also goes by the name Star Lord. Though focusing on comic characters not previously widely known, the film earned more than $770 million worldwide, leading to the release of the even more profitable Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017) and the inclusion of its characters in other Marvel films, like Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
'Jurassic World'
After Guardians, Pratt moved on other lead actor work. He spent part of 2014 filming the next installment of the Jurassic Park film series in Louisiana and Hawaii. The movie was dubbed Jurassic World and hit theaters in June 2015, eventually garnering over $1 billion worldwide in ticket sales. Pratt later reprised the role of Velociraptor specialist Owen Grady for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The dinosaur action-thriller again met with an eager audience, topping $110 million during its June 2018 opening weekend in China.
'The Magnificent Seven,' 'Onward'
In 2016, Pratt appeared in the remake of The Magnificent Seven, alongside Denzel Washington and Vincent D'Onofrio, and starred with Jennifer Lawrence in the sci-fi romance Passengers. He then returned to voice work for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) and Onward (2020), the latter also featuring the talents of Tom Holland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer.
Personal Life
In 2009 Pratt married fellow actor Anna Faris, known for her roles in films like Scary Movie and the sitcom Mom. The couple met in 2007 on the set of the film Take Me Home Tonight. Their son, Jack, weighed less than four pounds when he was born nine weeks premature in August 2012, but has continued to make strides toward a healthy childhood.
After eight years of marriage, Pratt and Faris announced they were getting separated on August 6, 2017. Pratt posted about their separation on social media: "Anna and I are sad to announce we are legally separating. We tried hard for a long time, and we’re really disappointed. Our son has two parents who love him very much and for his sake we want to keep this situation as private as possible moving forward. We still have love for each other, will always cherish our time together and continue to have the deepest respect for one another." In December of that year, Pratt officially filed for divorce.
The leading man subsequently spent much of his downtime with his son, though he was spotted on a date with Arnold Schwarzenegger's oldest daughter, Katherine, the following spring. In June 2019, a few months after Pratt announced their engagement on Instagram, the couple married in Montecito, California. The pair welcomed their first child, daughter Lyla Maria, in August 2020.
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