To get out and explore is something that appeals to everyone
Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence have teamed up for new sci-fi thriller Passengers. The Hollywood duo talk to SUSAN GRIFFIN about discomfort on set, dance-offs and daring to explore the unknown
CHRIS PRATT is literally jumping with joy at the thought of his new movie Passengers being released. “I can’t curb my enthusiasm,” grins the suited star, as he lifts himself out of the chair and kicks his legs in the air, much to his co-star Jennifer Lawrence’s amusement.
“I love movies. I love going to the movies,” says Minnesota-born Chris, 37. “This is a great movie. I’m really excited for people to finally see it.
“We worked really hard over the last year making it. It was the bestst script I’ve ever read and I think we got it right, so I’m dying for people to go and see it.”
Kentucky-born Jennifer, 26, elegant in a floor-length floral dress, is nodding in agreement.
“I think it’s a nice escape,” she adds. “It’s a great setting. It’s a very intimate, human story on a beautiful ship, with dire consequences.”
In the sci-fi action thriller – directed by The Imitation Game’s Morten Tyldum – the Hollywood stars play strangers Jim and Aurora, two people who’ve decided to leave Earth and embark on a 120-year journey to another planet to be part of a new colony called Homestead II.
Only their hibernation pods wake them 90 years too early and, as the ship teeters on the brink of collapse, they’re forced to unravel the mystery behind the fault.
“The ship is falling apart,” Chris explains. “Robots start to malfunction, lights flicker on and off. Ultimately, our characters find out there’s a reason why it’s malfunctioning and we’re suddenly in a desperate situation, trying to fix a problem to save not only our own lives, but the lives of all of the other passengers on the ship.”
It appears that humanity is on the cusp of a new era of space travel, and Chris believes “there’s a longing to be an adventurer” in all of us.
“To get out and explore and head off into uncharted territories,” says the actor, who transformed from plump slacker Andy Dwyer in hit TV comedy Parks And Recreation to buff action star in movies like Guardians Of The Galaxy and Jurassic World.
“I think it’s something that appeals to all people, and it has since the beginning of time. It certainly does to these two characters, they’re looking for something and where they end up is much different to where they were expecting.”
He doesn’t want to ruin any surprises from the film – which also stars Michael Sheen, Andy Garcia and Laurence Fishburne – but the father-of-one (who is married to actress Anna Faris) cheekily adds: “It’s safe to say they find what they didn’t even know they were looking for.”
Describing Jim as ‘kind of a throwback’, Chris adds: “He’s very much a working-class guy. He’s considered a desirable trade, as a mechanical engineer, because he’ll be helping to start a civilisation. If something breaks, he’ll be there to fix it.”
The actor is “very different” to his alter-ego, comments Jennifer, a four-time Academy Award-nominee, who endeared herself to millions when she tripped en route to collect herh Best Actress Oscar for Silver LiningsL Playbook in 2013.
“Jim acts like he’s never r really had a girlfriend, and he doesn’t really know how to behave around women; that’s charming and sweet, b but it’s not like Chris at all, who’s married and funny,” she observes.
“It was interesting to watch him go from Chris Pratt to a shy, insecure, romantic person.”
In contrast, Aurora is a New York writer on the assignment of a lif lifetime – to be the first person in human history to make the round trip.
“It’s such a huge decision to make,” notes Jennifer of her character’s challenge. “You have to start a brand new life on a brand new planet that you’ve never been to, and when you arrive (back on Earth), everyone you know will be dead.
“I can’t imagine saying goodbye to everybody I know and love. I understand her thirst for more, but I don’t think I could make that kind of permanent decision.”
Their spaceship, Avalon, is a character in itself, something Chris describes as “part badass spaceship, part luxury cruise liner”, with fine-dining restaurants on board, high-end stores, sports courts, a