I sat down with Chris Pratt to talk about his take on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and naturally he was super excited about the way it turned out. I mean – how can you NOT be? The storyline was so meaty! It really took Peter Quill to a more emotional space and brought his fans a new perspective on his life and past.
You always wonder what a leading actor feels the first time he or she sees their film. Are they nervous? Are they scared? Are they just as excited as their fans? We had to know! What did Chris Pratt think about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2?
I saw it about a week and a half ago for the first time, and last night was the second time. I was so relieved when I saw it because I knew like the script, the script, that movie is exactly what the script, how the script read. And so, I, when I read the script, I knew it was good.
And, but there’s so much stuff that can happen between reading the script, and then watching the movie, you know? There’s so many moving parts, some of which I’m responsible for. So, I was like… please be, still be good. I was just relieved to see that the movie was as good as the script.
I hate spoilers. I really do. SO, I’m sorry if this one does something negative to you and your feelings about the movie, but I had to know. I asked Chris what he thought about how Peter Quill’s meeting with his father turned out. While I was sad for the fictitious character, I personally couldn’t have seen it happen any other way. We all hype things up too much in our own lives, right?
That idea, that concept was mind blowing. It was next level to me. And, understanding like the nuances I was gonna be allowed to play as this character, way different from the first movie. I mean, there were certain emotional tones in the first movie with Peter Quill and his mother – that side of his origin. But this new story, feeling the reality of like his biological father, and this guy that he’s built up in his mind.
It’s a very contemporary story, and there’s a lot of kids that are gonna relate to that. You know? Whose dads weren’t around. And who have another man in their life who’s been, you know, responsible for raising them.
James kinda just told me the whole script when we sat down like a couple years ago.
Maybe just a few weeks or maybe a month or so after the first movie came out, he invited me to his house, and just told me the whole movie. I was the first person to hear it. And, I was like crying at the end.
And he’s like, “So, what do you think? Would you?” ‘Cause he was ask-, kind of asking if I was willing to go there, you know? And, like, “Are you crazy? Yes. Please, it’s amazing. I really do.
I just love that James Gunn knew so long ago what Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was going to be about. I mean before the first movie even put on a pair of brakes! That’s just the way the movie world works. I remember learning that the people behind Cars 2 starting writing the script for Cars 2 before Car 1 ever hit the theatre. Can you imagine?! You just know when you have a hit on your hands I suppose!!!
I don’t want to break one of the biggest moments for Peter Quill – a HUGE DRAMATIC KNOWLEDGE DROP that he learns about his mom. I won’t tell you about it. But Chris had to show some real rage during this scene – some anger and hate and straight up killer emotions. The group wanted to know where he pulls from whenever he has to go somewhere that dark.
That was, that’s something that for me as an actor is one of the hardest things for me to do, is channel anger, because I do it so rarely in my real life. Not saying that that’s healthy. Don’t really do it that often. And so, I think often times like, you know, how we behave in the real world is, that type of behavior’s really easy to do as an actor, for me at least, real natural stuff.
But for me to like look someone in the eye and yell at ‘em, and tell them what they did to me, that they wronged me, that I’m pissed off, that type of thing is not something I do that often. So, it’s hard for me to, it was hard for me to get there. And when you can’t like use just the natural empathy for your character that you’re playing, this character that you’re playing that you love and you have to have empathy for them, and then you feel their emotions. Because, you know, if that doesn’t work to get you there, you have to rely on some sort of tricks to work rather from the inside out, but from the outside in.
I think that’s what I had to do in that scene. So, it was actually not as emotional for me as it was kinda practical. Like creating a center, creating a loud voice, you know, finding. James really helps me with that stuff, and, you know, it’s just a lot about energy, and, you know, heightening your energy, and grounding it, and being direct. That’s something that doesn’t come that natural to me. So, I’m glad that, if you think that, if you think it worked, that’s good. That makes me feel happy.
There are so many scenes in this movie that stand out for me. That one was very powerful. Truly.
Most comedies include a few improvs here and there. Did Chris get some lines in there that weren’t originally in the script! I’m always a sucker for this kind of info!
I mean, James is, really knows my voice. And especially in the second movie has written the script in a way that it sounds like stuff I would improv. You know what I mean?
But there are a few jokes that I improv that made it. I think the thing about “if the thing between my legs had a hand on it.” That’s me. I was talking to James about that today, on the day it wasn’t that funny. It was just like we’d done that scene a bunch of times, and they had to do it again because they needed to get something else. And so, I knew they already had whatever the line that was written. They already had it. And so, I knew when they already have it, then I have, that’s my room to play, you know?
I say, you’re gonna throw this take away anyways, I’m just gonna whatever I want. And that’s what I said when he was like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” And, you know, it wasn’t that funny. And then he put it in the movie.
If you follow Chris on Instagram, you know all about his “What’s My Snack” series. He is such a riot!! We asked him what his favorite current snack is.
Peter Quill’s shirt in the movie, if you see that – that’s his favorite snack, because that’s actually a label from, this is a little Easter egg, but from the first movie, there was some candy on the table and I think I’m eating some of the candy. I don’t know if I, they ever made it in the movie, but he, but James really loved the label, the art department had gone the lengths of creating this language, and created a label for some candy.
And so, he put that label on the shirt. So, that’s like a snack that Peter Quill likes to eat. And I don’t know, I think it had, there’s a real language and it says something. But, that’s probably his favorite snack.
Personally, I’m like a cheese and crackers and Crudités, that kind of thing, you know what I mean? Is that what it’s called, Crudités? Sausage and cheese and crackers, it’s like Italian?
Yeah, like cheese, crackers, and mustard and that kind of thing. If I could, you know, I’d just, I could live on that. I’d get fat. And Doritos.
Last but not least, we had one more question about weight and fitness. We were looking for advice from Chris Pratt because you know what he did to his body! Amazing.
I’m gonna be fully authentic. I’m pretty careful about when I reveal myself to the public. So, and I do it in a way to make you think that I’ve kept it off the entire time, but I haven’t.
Seriously, like I kinda keep tight, close to what I need to be, but I have to live my life as well. So, when I do a shirtless scene, or I do a magazine cover, or I do a photoshoot that I know is gonna get a lot of press, I’m, I then dial it in so that I can take a good picture. And so, I really, my, all my eating habits and diet fitness habits are, it’s very shallow of me, but hey, they’re very much based around how I put myself out there. So, don’t be hard on yourself if you can’t, if people can’t like, if they lose weight and they can’t keep it off.
That’s just really natural. And I think, you know, the best thing, the best way to think about it is not to have a goal of like a weight goal, do you know what I mean?
It’s not to say like my goal is a, is 225 pounds. That’s not my goal. My goal is six months. It’s like six months of consistency. Go to the gym, or do something every day for six months. See if I can do that. Like make the goal, a consistency. Like build up a bunch of consistency and make it more of a lifestyle, rather than seek out a goal.
I just did it a couple weeks ago where I had like a photoshoot for Men’s Fitness or something, and that was, I made that my goal. And then like three days, I swear, like I worked hard for weeks and weeks and weeks, I got in great shape. I felt good. I did the photo.
And like three days later I put on like 20 pounds. Just ‘cause I was so goal oriented, you know what I mean? ‘Cause then you hit that goal and you’re like, nailed it, let’s eat- just a little bit, and then like six weeks have passed and be like, “What did I do? Why did I do that?” So, it’s natural to kind of go up and down.
UGH ok I lied. I forgot about this quote. I was going to end it at fitness, but I forgot that he talked a little bit about his faith and as a Christian woman, I think it’s important to have these quotes out there because they are fleeting in the industry. Chris does a lot of community work and someone asked why that was so important to him.
I actually credit Russell Wilson. I think I saw how he did it, and I was like, this guy’s awesome. Like, he’s open with his f-. He’s open about his faith. He is a superstar quarterback, and, you know, I have a pretty healthy and not that secret man crush on him. I saw how he did it, and what he did up at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
And, I remember around the time that I was, got Guardians of the Galaxy. I remember thinking to myself like, if this thing does what it could potentially do, and there’s a world where it would mean something for me to go do that, I’ll definitely do it, you know?
And I, and I follow, and I get that from Russell Wilson, but I think if I credit Russell Wilson, he wouldn’t take the credit. He’d give the glory to god, he would say that.…it was like, you know, his faith that. So, I think it’s the same kind of thing. I really love how he does it, and I have to credit some of that with him.
There were a few more quotes but MY GOODNESS HOW LONG IS THIS POST GOING TO BE? I want to fit it all in because I am utterly obsessed with Chris, but I can’t do it to you – I just can’t. End result. Chris is amazing. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is the best movie of the year. BOOM – I said it.
Don’t give me some depressing, sappy Oscar nom about someone dying and looking for life redemption. I’m not into it. I want guns blazing, space fighting, alien warcraft adventures – with a deeply rooted storyline that will hook you RIGHT IN from the first scene. You will love it!
Movie releases May 5th – be there!
*Disney invited me to interview Chris Pratt
All opinions are my own
Photos by Mom Start