Pratt's early films include 'Bride Wars,' 'Wanted' and 'Take Me Home Tonight,' and even his 'Parks and Rec' wasn't a model boyfriend at first
Credit: Jason Mendez/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Chris Pratt opened up about how playing ‘the douche character’ early in his career
- He pointed especially to his role in Bride Wars
- Pratt also reflected on how his Parks and Recreation character, Andy, became part of what made the show so special
Chris Pratt knows you might not have liked his early work.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly on April 5, Pratt, 46, reflected on how how often played the “d–khead boyfriend” in movies.
Pratt was remembering 2009’s Bride Wars, which starred Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson. The actor played Fletcher, the longtime boyfriend of Hathaway's character who is controlling and hates that she becomes more outspoken as a spat with her best friend rages on.
"This is the role that I often was offered from early in my career up until this point," Pratt said, "which is the guy you don't want to end up with the girl, and kind of the douche character."
Credit: Claire Folger/20th Century Fox
He explained, "I've been offered that a lot. I dined out on 'd–khead boyfriend' for a long time."
Pratt also appeared as a similar jerk in 2008’s Wanted, 2010’s 10 Years and 2011’s Take Me Home Tonight and What's Your Number? (both starring his ex-wife, Anna Faris). Even on his WB series Everwood, which ran from 2002 to 2006, his character Bright Abbott could also be a jerk from time to time.
And when Pratt began appearing on Parks and Recreation as Andy Dwyer, the character was originally written as the unemployed, slacker boyfriend of Rashida Jones’ Ann Perkins. Originally written to be a small role, the writers kept Pratt on the series, and during season two began to develop Andy’s romance with April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza) and make the character less of a loser.
Pratt told EW of the dynamic between April and Andy, "It was like a cat and a dog if they got married. He's like a golden retriever — eternal optimist — and she's just like aloof, and her character was so into irony and the comedy that comes from irony that she picked the least likely person to end up with, and then fell in love. And it's almost like that act, in itself, is an act of rebellious irony. And I've always loved that."
Credit: Ben Cohen/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Their relationship, he said, also gave him a bigger role in the ensemble of Park and Rec, which ran from 2009 to 2015 for seven seasons. "There was no emotional through-line that Andy ever carried,” he said, “But there was a couple of sweet moments, and it was based on that romance and that relationship that made it more than just a side character.”
"They, as a couple — there was a certain synergy. Them together equalled more than each of them apart,” he said.
As Parks and Rec was ending, Pratt was cast as Star-Lord in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. He followed that up with 2015’s Jurassic World and established himself as a blockbuster film star. This month, he stars in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the sequel to 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Back in 2025, Pratt told PEOPLE that leaving Parks and Rec came with mixed emotions. "I was sad to be letting go [of] that character in that family, and at the same time, eager to move forward," he said.
Read the full article here
