Entertainment
'The Lego Movie' Isn't Chris Pratt's First Rodeo: 7 Other Fantastic Roles He's Played
Chris Pratt is having a very good year. Over the past twelve months, the actor, currently starring in The Lego Movie, signed on to star in Marvel's sure-to-be-huge Guardians of the Galaxy, made Delivery Man not suck, had a supporting role in Oscar nominee Her, and was cast as the star of the fourth Jurassic Park movie — and that's just the half of it. This past year, Pratt also watched his Parks and Rec finally get notice, was nominated for a Critic's Choice Award, signed a multi-film deal with Marvel, lost a ton of weight, and saw his son's 1st birthday. And now there's Lego, which is getting fantastic reviews and tearing up the box office. Right now, Pratt's life couldn't get any better.
If anyone deserves it, though, it's Pratt, who's consistently been one of the funniest, coolest, and talented guys in Hollywood. He's earned his success, and it's great to see him finally get a big break. Many people may only know him as Parks and Rec's Andy Dwyer, or, now, as Lego's Emmet, but this year's projects are actually the culmination of a decade's worth of hard work.
Take a look back at the great Pratt-starring movies you might've missed — there's more than you think.
'Strangers With Candy'
Pratt had a small role in Steven Colbert’s 2005 comedy, playing Brason, a member of a science fair team who tries to convince Jerri Blank (Amy Sedaris) to give up secrets of her team’s competing project. The movie was a box office failure, but critics deemed it a decent, if not great, companion to the beloved Strangers With Candy TV show.
Image: THINKFilm
'Wanted'
Pratt co-starred alongside Angelina Jolie in one of 2008’s biggest movies, playing Barry, a guy having an affair with the girlfriend of assassin-in-training Gibson (James McAvoy). Wanted was a huge success, earning over $341 million and two Academy Award nominations.
Image: Universal
'Jennifer's Body'
One of the most underrated movies of 2009 featured Pratt in a small role, playing a police officer dealing with the casualties of a dangerous teenage girl (Megan Fox) whose body was inhabited by a demonic spirit after a rock band tried to sacrifice her to Satan. Yes, it’s crazy, but oh, so good — and Pratt, alongside a cast that included Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody, J.K. Simmons and more, made it even better.
Image: 20th Century Fox
'Moneyball'
Her isn’t Pratt’s first Best Picture nominee; back in 2011, the actor had a major role in Moneyball, as a catcher recruited by Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane who helped the team win twenty consecutive games. The film received rave reviews and was a major box office success.
Image: Columbia
'10 Years'
Pratt was one of the highlights of 10 Years, a criminally underrated 2012 film about the attendees of a high school reunion. As Cully, a former bully whose attempts at amends horribly backfire, Pratt made a tough character feel real, familiar, and surprisingly likable.
Image: Anchor Bay Films
'Zero Dark Thirty'
In a role as different than Andy Dwyer as it gets, Pratt starred as a Navy SEAL tasked with hunting down Bin Laden in Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-nominated Zero Dark Thirty. Pratt gained serious muscle for the role, working out for six months and gaining a six-pack — that he immediately had to lose for Delivery Man, an awful Vince Vaughn comedy that barely made back its budget. Still, getting to star in one of 2011’s best-reviewed films? Not a bad trade-off.
Image: Columbia
'Her'
And then there was Her, Spike Jonze’s gorgeous, haunting tale of a lonely man’s relationship with an operating system. Pratt’s role as Theodore’s (Joaquin Phoenix) boss was small but fully felt, and the quality of his performance certainly contributed to the film’s huge critical success.
Image: Warner Bros.
