- Chad Smith, Tears of the Sun, 2002. US director Antoine Fuqua chose Pratt for one, the Steve McQueen one, of his Magnificent Seven revisit in 2016. “He would constantly bring up the time he read for me on Tears of the Sun. ‘Remember? I was the guy who came in dressed in the military fatigues, and I dove behind a chair. And Antoine, you looked at me like, hurry up and get this fucking guy out the room… He’s very self-aware, he makes fun of himself. He is humble and has no ego. I think guys like that… know how it feels to be on the other side, to be the guy diving behind the chair with fatigues on, hoping to make an impression, and knowing people want you to hurry up and get out the room. He remembers. I was happy that he wasn’t pissed off at me for not working with him that time. He would joke about it every day.”
- Joseph Gordon-Levit, The Lookout, 2006. Chris Pratt auditioned but never got a call-back for a bank’s janitor called… Chris Pratt .
- Zachary Levi, Chuck, TV , 2007-2012. Imagine – the finalists for the titular Charles Irving Bartowski were Pratty and Levi – the future galaxy guardian Star-Lord and Shazam, himself Also involved in the show was a certain Brandon Routh, who later became Superman.
- Chris Pine, Star Trek, 2007.
- Sam Worthington, Avatar, 2008. Fox wanted Matt Damon or Jake Gyllenhaal for the crippled hero, Jake (ex-Josh) Sully. James Cameron wanted an unknown without any baggage. Chris Pine gave “my worst audition ever,” poor Worthington was reduced to living in his car at the time… and Pratt figured that was the end of any franchise for him. Until Guardians of the Galaxy in 2013.
- TJ Miller, Our Idiot Brother, 2010. The project clashed with his TV schedule for Parks and Recreation, 2009-2015. Never mind. Just around the corner lay Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, 2013, and superstardom. Chris Pratt was the name of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s role in The Lookout, 2007.
- Bradley Cooper, American Sniper, 2014. Yes he was one of the producers. But no, Cooper never felt he was right for the ex-Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the most effective US sniper during the Iraq War. “But that was the only way that I was gonna get the movie produced. Chris Pratt was the guy in my mind – always. But I didn’t tell anybody that!” At one time, Steven Spielberg was due to direct – instead, he signed up Pratt for his 2014 Jurassic Park production… which immediately broke every global box-office record in the book.
- TJ Miller, Big Hero 6, 2014. “We didn’t set out to be superheroes. But sometimes life doesn’t go the way you planned.” Zac Efron, Dwayne Johnson, Chris Pratt and Ryan Reynolds were short-listed for Fred – comic-book fan and now comic-book hero in Disney’s first Marvel subject – winning the best animation Oscar. It unfurls in 2023 (we all know that computer battery number, right?) in San Fransokyo (‘Frisco rebuilt by the Japanese after an earthquake) and deals with a super-troupe behind the titular collective name… that nobody ever uses. TJ next joined Reynolds in Deadpool. “He’s a real student of comedy,” said co-director Chris Wlliams,” so Fred ended up becoming a richer character than anyone expected.” Stan Lee, himself, was Fred’s Pop.
- Daniel Henney, Big Hero 6, 2014. Pratt again, plus Will Arnett, Steve Carell, Charlie Day, Will Ferrell, Louis CK, Nick Offerman and Jim Parsons were listed for voicing Tadashi, creator of the inflatable Baymax robot.
- Alden Ehrenreich, Solo: A Star Wars Story, 2017.
- James McAvoy, It Chapter Two, 2018. At one time The Penguin, The Rock, Peter Quill, Harry Potter, Deadpool, The Green Hornet and Doctor Who were suggested for the adult Bil” Denbrough – ie, Danny De Vito, Dwayne Johnson, Chris Pratt, Daniel Radcliffe, Ryan Reynolds, Seth Rogan, David Tennant. Also in the mix: Zac Efron, Will Ferrell, Sean Hayes, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Rogan and such off-the-wall outsiders as UK comics Russell Brand, James Corden, Eddie Izzard and Matt Lucas! McAvoy was the real McCoy – and one of the biggest Stephen King fans around. Bill Skarsgård had more fun as Pennywise this time. No literal nightmares about fighting the clown, no kid actors scared by him in scenes, his five-hour make-up cut by half and less dialogue… in the 262nd of King’s staggering 313 screen credits. (King Kameo: Pawnbroker).
- James Marsden, Sonic the Hedgehog, 2019. For the new movie version of the video game, 15 actors jostled for Tom Wachowski, the Montana cop helping the speedy blue blur alien from another planet in his fight against Jim Carrey’s Dr Robotnik. They were: Pratt, Jack Black, Ansel Elgort, Chris Evans, Bill Hader (also up for voicing Sonic), Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Adam Pally (also seen for Sonic, he wound up as Wade, Tom’s deputy), Paul Rudd, Jason Segal, Justin Timberlake, Milo Ventimiglia, Owen Wilson and Marsden, who was ready for “as many as they want to make. it was so much fun to see Jim enjoying himself again.”
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 12