DINO-RIDER
Chris Pratt talks dino love, action sequences and Chris Hemsworth
Where do we find Owen at the beginning of Dominion?
Owen is living a little bit off the grid, because they have taken responsibility for Maisie. Over the course of this film, there’s a particular reason why she is so wanted by the baddies. Claire and Owen are really struggling with how to be parents, how to parent a teenager, how to keep her safe and how to keep her protected from the truth. Meanwhile, we are both doing some pretty badass shit like wrangling dinosaurs on horseback, or breaking into buildings to free baby dinosaurs. Claire and Owen are living this dual life of failing to be parents, but excelling at being dinosaur helpers.
What have you enjoyed about the relationship between Owen and Blue, and how has it evolved?
Blue, too, is a parent, so there is a Baby Blue. She is still dangerous and still deadly. She’s growing, as well. It’s been cool through the course of the past seven years, over these three films, to have an ongoing relationship with this CG dinosaur. On paper, it seems silly, and I suppose in some regards it is. It is fun, and hopefully not too campy. But it’s also kind of meaningful.
The legacy cast is back in action. As an actor, what was it like being on-set with them?
It was unreal. It was surreal, in a word. Getting to work with these guys is a kind of milestone, one you didn’t even know that you were ever going to be in the ballpark of trying to hit. These are characters, actors, that I loved before
I even knew I was going to be an actor. To be on-screen with them is really special. Even more special is to get close to them. You always get close to people when you’re filming, but when you film under Covid in a foreign land, you get really close. That is the most special part for me, becoming friends with these folks and now being their peer. If I called, they would pick up the phone, and likewise.
Was there any particular sequence that blew your mind?
We have one action sequence that is unlike anything I have ever seen before. It’s a 12- or 13-minute action sequence. There’s a dinosaur chase on motorcycles that resembles the dinosaur motorcycle beat from the first one, but it’s driven by a plot that makes sense. It’s not gratuitous. It actually makes sense and honours what was great in the previous films. And we did one sequence, which to me was one of the most beautiful things I have not only ever been a part of, but maybe that I have ever seen on film, where Owen is chasing down a pack of dinosaurs on horseback up in Kamloops, Canada. It’s meant to be snowy America. It’s so gorgeous. It’s like Yellowstone meets a dinosaur movie.
As a huge fan of the original Jurassic Park, are you proud that this franchise could prove to be a seminal moment for someone else’s childhood?
That makes me feel really good and really proud of it. It has been an extraordinary run. I don’t know if it’s coming with age or what, but I am getting this wave of sentimentality recently as I approach the end of Jurassic and as I am off shooting the end of Guardians Of The Galaxy. It’s a lot of work. I’m grateful to have been on this journey and I’m really proud of all the hard work that I have put in, and that everyone else has put in.
Next up for you is Thor: Love And Thunder. How much fun was it bouncing Star-lord off Thor?
I love being able to work with Chris Hemsworth. He is like Thor in real life. He’s the sweetest dude. Super-funny. Works so hard. It was great. I loved every minute of shooting it. I’m so grateful that they brought us along. It was neat to see him bring this to Australia and shoot it there, with all of his fellow countrymen. And with director Taika Waititi, who is just outrageous. His style is so unique.