Chris Pratt is now widely known as a leading man in Hollywood and a major voice actor, but he has appeared in other major roles over his decades-long career. Pratt is known for his lovable goofball and action hero roles, which have consistently helped his character to stand out and connect with viewers. His quirky humor, sense of childlike wonder and innocence, and ability to convey genuine emotion all help to make him the wonderful actor he is.
Although he may be best known for his role as Star-Lord in the MCU, Pratt has also appeared in several highly acclaimed projects such as Her, Moneyball, and Zero Dark Thirty in supporting roles. He has also gained a lot of attention for roles in animated films such as The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Onward, and The Lego Movie. Pratt is expected to join the DC Universe under James Gunn at some point in the future and has several other exciting projects currently in the works, including a new animated Garfield movie where Chris will voice the lasagna-obsesses cat.
1 Jurassic World (2015)
Owen Grady
Guardians of the Galaxy
, Pratt appeared as the lead in another major franchise with
Jurassic World
. The fourth entry in the franchise and a sequel that rebooted the series for a brand-new trilogy. Pratt’s performance as the
dinosaur wrangling veteran, Owen Grady
, is perfect. He delivers a genuine passion and care for creatures which were only ever added in post and pulls off the action sequences with incredible skill.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Mario
When Pratt was announced to play the famous Italian plumber in
The Super Mario Bros. Movie,
reactions were mixed. However, the
box office success of Chris Pratt’s Mario
speaks for itself, and the
critical response was largely positive
once the movie was in theaters. The Brooklyn accent may not have been perfect, but Pratt’s upbeat and quirky style helped embody the performance of Mario as a loving brother and family man trying to launch his plumbing business before unwittingly becoming a hero.
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Onward (2020)
Barley Lightfoot
In 2020, Pratt had the opportunity to appear alongside his MCU co-star, Tom Holland in
Onward
. The Disney Pixar story about two elven brothers who set off on an adventure to magically resurrect their father sees a beautiful relationship blossom between Holland’s Ian and Pratt’s Barley Lightfoot. Again,
Pratt proves his ability to convey deep emotional resonance
and connection with just the use of his voice. Barley is a loving big brother and steps up to protect his brother in the absence of their deceased father. The story is touching and invites all ages to find something to love, as Pixar does so well.
Everwood (2002-2006)
Bright Abbott
After Pratt began his acting career in 2000, he landed a prominent recurring role in
Everwood
where he would appear in every episode during the four-year run. He plays
the lovable and misguided Bright Abbott
, who struggles with a range of personal and family issues, and has overly casual relationships with alcohol and women, but throughout the course of the series, he becomes more emotionally stable. This role highlights Pratt’s ability to play deeply emotional characters with a degree of charm, in spite of their abundant flaws. It feels like a precursor role to his later performance as
Andy Dwyer in
Parks and Recreation,
considering some of the similarities between these characters.
The Lego Movie (2014)
Emmet Brickowski
The same year that Pratt had his major breakout role in
Guardians of the Galaxy
, he also starred as the leading brickman in
The Lego Movie
. Emmet Brickowski is an incredibly
positive and upbeat presence in a fairly uniform and monotonous role
, but he discovers he yearns for something bigger than himself. Pratt does an exceptional job in this role and brings the animated Lego man to life while conveying a wide range of emotions, realizing his potential to become a master builder.
The Terminal List (2022-Present)
James Reece
The Terminal List
sees Pratt embody a much more action-centric role as a former Navy SEAL officer who has returned home after a mission that wiped out most of his team. James Reece is committed to uncovering what actually happened, and why his team was dropped into an ambush, whatever the cost. Pratt shows his ability to
cover a wider range of emotions embodying stress, PTSD, and anxiety
as an officer struggling with his memories of active duty while trying to protect his wife and daughter.
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord
The final entry in James Gunn’s
Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy
,
GotG Vol. 3,
provides a satisfying conclusion to the story of this ragtag team in outer space. Peter Quill has come through a lot over the course of the MCU, losing his mother as a child, finding out his father was not what he had hoped, and finally losing the woman he fell in love with. Pratt delivers an outstanding performance as the
man who lost everything and still fights to protect his found family
and the rest of the galaxy.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord
Building towards that emotional performance in
GotG Vol. 3
, Pratt is a central figure in
Avengers: Infinity War
. When his team encounters Earth’s mightiest heroes, Star-Lord does his best to lead his team in their efforts to stop Thanos. Pratt delivers an emotional performance as they
face off against the single biggest threat
the team has ever faced. While he does his best to keep a cool head and stick to the plan to take down Thanos, he can’t contain his emotions when he discovers Gamora’s fate. The outburst of rage, sadness, and pain are all captured perfectly in Pratt’s performance.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord
The film that
launched Pratt’s career into the stratosphere
both metaphorically and in the movie,
Guardians of the Galaxy
saw Pratt become a refined action hero and shed his previous typecast of simply being a lovable idiot.
Peter Quill is still a goofball
in many ways, but in addition to his quirks, he is a superhero who literally saves the galaxy from evil threats. Pratt finds a way to balance the eccentricities of his character with a cool-headed leader who can bring his team together and rally support.
Parks and Recreation (2009-2015)
Andy Dwyer
Before
Guardians of the Galaxy
made Chris Pratt into a star, Chris Pratt made Andy Dwyer into an iconic character in
Parks and Recreation
. On paper, Andy is a slob, he’s lazy, he isn’t particularly clever, and his pursuit of a career in music is not going anywhere fast. What could have been an annoying and frustrating character becomes something else entirely thanks to Pratt’s ability to add layers and charm to a character who by all rights should have neither.
Chris Pratt
proves once again his ability to give emotional and vulnerable performances, elevate characters that could have been one-dimensional, and win over audiences.
