Chris Pratt
The star of Guardians of the Galaxy gets ready to wrangle the raptors in Jurassic World. By Nick Dent
Call it a self-fulfilling prophecy. One moment Chris Pratt is playing blockbuster-loving doofus Andy Dwyer on sitcom Parks and Recreation, and the next he’s starring for real in action blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World and even being linked to the Indiana Jones role. It may seem like an overnight ascent but Pratt, 35, has worked steadily in Hollywood since his 2000 discovery by actor Rae Dawn Chong, when he served her in a diner in Maui and she cast him in a short horror film she was directing. Time Out spoke to Pratt by phone to Los Angeles.
Chris, right now you’re just about the hottest thing in Hollywood. How are you coping with all the attention? It’s good. I’m ready for it. I’ve been at it for 15 years and it’s been a slow, incremental build up. I think if I was thrust into this early on I probably wouldn’t be ready.
Dinosaur theme parks didn’t pan out so well in the previous three movies. How can we justify going back there in Jurassic World? [ laughs] Well, it’s been 22 years since the first movie and the theme of man meddling with nature for corporate greed is still part of the narrative, but we’re now focusing on a society that’s out of touch because they’re so easily bored. Think about it: in Jurassic World, 20 years after the first movie came out, it’s a world that has had dinosaurs for 20 years! Like, landing on the moon was really fucking cool in 1969, and now we’re like, ‘yeah, we got a Rover on Mars and he beams pictures to my iPhone and I don’t give a shit.’ ...Attendances are falling off, so corporate has come up with this whole plan to [genetically] create the biggest, scariest, fastest, strongest dinosaur yet, and they’re going to get everybody excited again. Where does your character come in? I play Owen, who works in a raptor behavioural training facility. He’s got a good respect for nature, but he’s also a combat veteran. He’s the kind of guy you want around when dinosaurs start flipping out and killing people.
You voiced the lead in The LEGO Movie: did you share the social media outrage that it wasn’t nominated for Best Animated Feature in the Oscars? When the nominations came out I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised. I think maybe people failed to realise that The LEGO Movie wasn’t just a giant toy commercial.
Is it true Spielberg wants you to play Indiana Jones? Man, if it is true, I haven’t heard it from him. I’ve only heard it from rumours online. I don’t think there’s a script or anything.
But you’d do it, right? I’ve been around long enough to know that being blinded by enthusiasm can be a very bad thing. It would have to be right, and I would have to read the script. I wouldn’t just sign onto it, because I care very much about the original. It’s sacred.
Jurassic World opens Thu Jun 11.
“He’s a guy you want around when dinosaurs start flipping out”