Best
known
as
the
lovably
dim
Andy
Dwyer
on
NBC’s Parks
and
Recreation,
it
was
the
lead
role
in
Guardians
of
the
Galaxy
that
turned
Chris
Pratt
into
a
full-blown
superstar.
Aside
from
his
transformation
from
goofy
sidekick
to charismatic
leading
man,
Pratt
underwent
a
headline-making
physical
transformation
to
lead
the
rag-tag
team
of
space
misfits
as
Peter
Quill.
“For
me
it
felt
like
a
perfect
fit
right
off
the
bat.
I
felt
like
at
my
very
first
audition
that
I
nailed
it,
but,
I
was
afraid
that
I
wasn’t
physically
right
for
it
because
I
was
still
pretty
big,”
Pratt
admitted
to
The
Huffington
Post. “I mean,
I
knew
he
had
my
spirit—I
knew
that
my
spirit
was
right.
And
I
knew
it
sounded
right,
I
just
didn’t
look
right
yet.”
And
director
James
Gunn
at
the
time
sort
of
agreed, admitting, “I
didn’t
even
want
to
see
Chris
at
first.
He
was
overweight
at
the
time,
and
he
seemed
like
a
comedy
guy,
and
he
didn’t
think
he
was
the
right
person
for
the
role.
But
he
came
in,
and
he
was
doing
his
audition,
and
20
seconds
into
his
audition
I’m
like, ‘That’s
the
guy.'”
Still,
Pratt
went
on
to
lose 60
pounds
in
six
months,
hilariously
documenting
the
journey
on
Instagram
(“Six
months
no
beer.
#GOTG
Kinda
douchy
to
post
this
but
my
brother
made
me”
was
the
caption
for
one
shirtless
gym
pic)
and
eventually
landing
endless
magazine
covers
and
headlines
touting
his
impressive
new
bod.
“He’s
a
hilariously
frumpy,
doofy
guy
in Parks
and
Rec,
and
he’s
an
incredibly
kickass
ripped
guy
in Zero
Dark
Thirty and
that’s
pretty
awesome,”
Feige
said
after
the
unexpected
casting
news
was
officially
announced. “He’s
going
to
need
that
in Guardians.
That’s
a
big
range
right
there.”
Little
did
Pratt
know
back
in
the
audition
process
that
the
Marvel
team
was
looking
way
down
the
line,
with
Feige
revealing, “We
always
cast
for
the
movie
we’re
making,
but
we
also
have
an
eye
on
the
future. So
when
we
were
casting
Chris
Pratt,
we
needed
the
best
Star-Lord,
but
at
the
same
time,
we
said, ‘We
need
somebody
who
one
day
might
go
toe
to
toe
with
Robert
Downey
Jr.'”
(Which
they
did
in
Infinity
War.)
While
it’s
hard
to
imagine
anyone
other
than
Pratt
and
his
effortless
charm
and
swagger
playing
Peter,
Marvel
had
considered
Eddie
Redmayne,
Joel
Edgerton,
Jack
Huston,
Joseph
Gordon-Levitt
and
Lee
Pace
for
the
role,
with
Pace
ending
up
taking
on
the
role
of
villain
Ronan
the
Accuser.
But
the
No.
1
contender
after
Pratt
seemed
to
be an
It’s
Always
Sunny
in
Philadelphia
star:
Glenn
Howerton.
Red Carpet
