Hollywood Told Chris Pratt He Was 'Too Fat' To Play This Role

"Welcome!" - Women everywhere.
More park, less recreation.
More park, less recreation.
NBC via Getty Images

Chris Pratt, i.e., man among boys, worst co-passenger in the galaxy and merciless photo-cropper, was not always the well-muscled action star we’ve come to know and drool over.

No, just a few short years ago he was known as Andy, the lovable goof from “Parks and Recreation” who could be found eating turkey chili off a frisbee. Audiences found Pratt’s teddy bear physique appealing, but apparently Hollywood wasn’t too keen on his extra pounds.

The “Passenger” star came face-to-face with the industry’s narrow standards of beauty when he auditioned for the 2011 baseball drama “Moneyball.”

“That was the first time I heard someone say, ‘We’re not gonna cast you — you’re too fat,” he told Vanity Fair in the magazine’s February cover story. “So I decided to drop the weight, like in wrestling. I couldn’t afford a trainer, so it was all running and crash-dieting and cutting alcohol.”

It wasn’t until Pratt bulked up to play a SEAL Team Six soldier in “Zero Dark Thirty” that his dream of becoming a Hollywood action hero seemed attainable. He would go on to star as Star-Lord in the hit Marvel movie “Guardians of the Galaxy,” launching him into the Hollywood leading-man stratosphere.

“I was like, My God, I buy that guy,” he said. “I’m SEAL Team Six in that movie, and I felt like it was real. I can do this. I can play those roles.”

For the record, wife Anna Faris totally misses “Fat Pratt,” as he’s affectionately dubbed. On “The Late Show” last year, Pratt told host Stephen Colbert that Faris actually prefers his “Parks and Recreation” body type.

“She likes to cook and I don’t get to eat as much of her cooking as I used to,” he said. “He’s not gone forever. He’s just on vacation for a couple years, but he’s coming back.”

Seriously, there’s no rush.

Before You Go

Chris Pratt's 100 Sexiest Photos

Chris Pratt's Sexiest Photos

Close

What's Hot