There is little doubt that Chris Pratt is now a huge star who can lead a major blockbuster. However, there was a time when he was a young actor who had to audition for anything available and struggled to get a part. So it's no surprise that Pratt actually tried out for James Cameron's 2009 hit Avatar but he also admitted that the experience was "demoralizing" for him!
Chris Pratt is currently promoting his latest project Jurassic World Dominion and while being a guest on the Smartless podcast, he revealed that he had auditioned for roles in Avatar and Star Trek. However, it didn't work out for him.
“I know I’ve made light of actors feeling rejection or whatever, but I didn’t come close [to getting the role]. In fact I came, it was so not close that it was really demoralizing and made me actually truly question my potential or what I should be aiming for as an actor,” Pratt said.
He then shared his experience with Avatar where his weight issues affected his audition.
“For both of those. I remember that the role was written like ‘He comes in,’ it was maybe the Avatar. . .I just remember reading this character description and it was like ‘he walks in and he has the it factor.’ So I was feeling, you know, a little bit overweight, I wasn’t really taking care of myself physically, I was in a relationship where we were, you know, drinking a lot,” Pratt explained.
He continued, “I walked in, and I started sweating immediately, and it was a casting assistant. She just looked at me and she just pressed record and she just started doing her stuff while I was reading with her other casting assistant. I saw that there was literally nothing about my audition that was compelling at all.”
It's heartbreaking to know that Pratt struggled with his confidence in the past but we're hoping that he has recovered since then.
Chris Pratt returns in Jurassic World Dominion which is screening in theaters worldwide.
Related: Super Mario Bros. Animated Movie Producer Defends the Casting of Chris Pratt
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