With Chris Pratt as a bona fide A-list star these days, and Guardians of the Galaxy a multi-sequel mega-hit, it can be hard to remember that neither one was always earmarked for glory. Pratt was a breakout star on Parks and Recreation, but his success on that show certainly didn’t telegraph a career as an action star. What changed was his casting in Guardians of the Galaxy, a then-little-known Marvel property in the hands of then-cult-favorite director James Gunn.
Even without the pressure and eyeballs that would accompany a tentpole Marvel casting like Spider-Man, Gunn apparently still had a similar knee-jerk “no” to the idea of casting a then-pudgy Pratt as a superhero. In my personal opinion, the whole hullabaloo about Pratt getting in superhero shape was a bit overblown. I think that Star-Lord, as a superhero that uses firearms and moves around via jet boosters, is one of the few MCU characters that could function perfectly well with a few extra points on his BMI.
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Honestly, it would have skyrocketed his likability even further to me.
Gunn apparently didn’t share my opinion, though it’s unclear if he was as hung up on the no-abs thing. Pratt wasn’t his first choice — or second choice. In fact, we’re talking three digits of auditions done before Gunn would consider him. On Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert, Gunn said he auditioned “hundreds” of actors, and even then, didn’t have any interest in Pratt.
So who do we, and Pratt, have to thank for his star (pun intended) turn? Casting director Sarah Finn, who basically forced Pratt into the room after Gunn complained that no one was right for the role. That was where the need for any convincing ended, since Gunn said that once Pratt started his audition, he knew within seconds that he was going to cast him.
It was likely Finn’s second best casting decision, directly after hiring Vin Diesel to be an illiterate tree with a three-word vocabulary.