Chris Pratt: from character actor to leading man

HE’S the hot leading man who used to be overweight. Now Chris Pratt has told us what getting in shape has done to his career - and his sex life.

Chris Pratt in Jurassic World, in theatres on June 12, 2015. (Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment via AP)

It’s almost hard to believe he’s the same guy. In just two years Chris Pratt has transformed from a fat character actor in films like The Five Year Engagement and Delivery Man into a hot leading man, landing roles in last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy and the upcoming Jurassic World.

“Nowadays, I get stopped on the street more than I used to, and filmmakers or studio heads that make the big decisions treat me differently,” Pratt told news.com.au. “They actually call me now whereas they never did before.”

After.

Before.

Pratt, 35, admitted to UK Men’s Fitness that his weight struggles affected everything from his mental state to sexual impotence. In Los Angeles last weekend to promote Jurassic World, Hollywood’s most affable actor was in fine form. He told news.com.au, “Yes, I did say that. That word describes somebody who can’t get an erection at all, but that wasn’t necessarily the case.” He pauses, choosing his words carefully. “It was a little harder to come by and my sex drive was lower because I just didn’t feel good.”

Pratt is married to Anna Faris, star of the TV show Mom, with whom he is raising their son, Jack (who will turn 3 in August). He says, “Now I’m more physically active in my daily life and so that came back a little stronger in a way and I’m more virile and active.” He laughs. “That’s probably why my wife wants me to be fat so I’ll keep my hands off her.”

Chris Pratt can’t keep his hands off wife Anna Faris. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

Anna has been with Chris through thick and thin. (Casey Rodgers/AP Images for Malibu)

These days he graces magazine covers bearing the kind of physique that can only be attained by spending hours at the gym. Notably, on a recent Entertainment Weekly he was featured in a wet T-shirt.

How does he feel when he sees himself featured as the body beautiful?

My first impulse was, ‘Oh, my nipples are like nearly cutting through that shirt.’ I was like, ‘Couldn’t they Photoshop the nipples down a little bit?’ He laughs. “I have to tell you, I have no shortage of friends who poke fun at me for those things, as they should because it’s pretty ridiculous”

Nice Nips. Chris Pratt’s cover of Entertainment Weekly.

Now that he’s moving into A-list terrain battling dinosaurs in the iconic Jurassic Park franchise, he is worlds away from his humble beginnings.

“I was thirteen years old when Jurassic Park came out. I saw it opening weekend and for me it was a major event. It was very sacred to me so when I was offered the role, it wasn’t just something where I said yes right away to make a ton of money. I was a little critical. I asked, ‘What is the story? Why are you doing this? Why is this relevant now?’ And once I knew the pitch I realised it was a really fresh new take. It’s been 22 years since the first one came out and our relationship to science has changed.

“I thought it was really interesting to explore the idea that if dinosaurs really were brought back from the dead 22 years ago, anyone who is less than 22 years old has never lived in a world where dinosaurs were extinct. And so that’s the audience we are after now; an audience that doesn’t look at dinosaurs as this kind of miracle. They look at them as animals in a zoo,” he explains.

Chris Pratt in Jurassic World, in theatres on June 12, 2015. (Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment via AP)

Pratt is currently filming The Magnificent Seven with Denzel Washington and will begin filming the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy early next year. It seems his upcoming movie roles dictate that he is destined to remain in optimum shape.

“Yes, I have to stay closer to being in great shape these days. It used to be that I’d be in good shape for a role, then have a few months off and completely binge. I’d drink and eat my face off and gain 30 pounds and it’d be great. But then I’d have to lose all that weight for the next job.

“So now it’s important to maintain rather than having extreme highs and lows. I worked out this morning and I worked out yesterday morning and maintain my diet as much as I can. But also, I don’t want to be too strict so I let myself have a few cheat meals,” he says. “And then when I have to do it I get extreme, knuckle down and get in shape.”

Considering there was a time when Pratt was homeless, living in Maui and sleeping in his van until he was discovered at age 19 waiting tables at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, the kind of success he’s experiencing now can throw one for a loop.

“Boy, that’s a tale as old as time, isn’t it? Someone enters this world on a string and then they completely blow it. It happens all the time. But I have got a great wife and a wonderful child and I think I was raised right. I had great parents and a solid upbringing,” he says. “I have a benefit over some people who found superstardom early because for me it took a long time — at least fifteen years. So I got to learn a lot of lessons and get a little bit better as an actor by learning on the job but also by witnessing other people who had success and lost it.

“I think the key to navigating this and coming out with any sense of sanity is to not make fame the most exciting part of your life. It’s really cool, but if you took it all away from me, I wouldn’t be devastated. And I think that’s how I am going to maintain some sense of sanity. And ask me in six months and I might be here doing lines of cocaine and flipping everybody off, screaming, ‘F**k you! I am on top of the world!!’” He laughs. “God, I hope not. We will see.”