Last week, Hollywood’s favorite nice guy, Chris Pratt, scored a coveted spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. From being cast as the lovable, chubby Andy Dwyer on “Parks and Recreation” to the hunky Star-Lord in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Pratt has run the gamut of typecast characters over his young career. The 37-year-old actor is finally breaking free from his casting mold and embracing his sudden explosion of stardom, and without losing track of what makes him so likable.

Pratt originally struck fame as the dumb but adorable Andy in “Parks and Recreation” back in 2009. Pratt was originally intended to guest star, but the producers loved him so much they wrote him in as a regular character. Many of his most memorable scenes as Andy — the type of scenes college girls make finals week memes about — were improvised, a technique he claims wasn’t always welcome on sets.

“I was always adding stuff to scenes and directors would be like, ‘Come on, man, no, don’t do that.’ And then that stuff would make the cut,” Pratt said in a 2015 interview with GQ.

This skill, while not always initially appreciated on sets, helped turn Pratt from the goofball boyfriend into one of the hottest stars in Hollywood today.

When Marvel developed their lesser-known “Guardians of the Galaxy” property into a film back in 2014, director James Gunn didn’t even want to consider the funny guy from “Parks and Recreation.” Casting director Sarah Finn insisted on allowing Pratt to read, seeing the worth in his humor and charm. After $800 million in box office receipts, “Guardians of the Galaxy” stands out as one of the biggest surprise successes from Marvel’s cinematic universe.

It’s easy to see how Pratt’s humor permeates his everyday life, making him one of the more relatable Hollywood stars today. He’s been married to actress Anna Faris since 2009 after meeting at a table read for “Take Me Home Tonight.”

When Pratt isn’t with Faris, he’s extremely active on social media. He has an Instagram video series entitled “What’s My Snack” where he humorously documents his planned meals while on set of “Jurassic World 2.” I wish I could make eating a cacao baobab banana chia smoothie so funny.

Later in 2016, Pratt took on a more dramatic and serious role to add to his repertoire: the leading role alongside Jennifer Lawrence in the sci-fi drama “Passengers.” Though the film was met with mixed reviews, it showed Pratt could headline a serious film — sans talking raccoons or pet velociraptors. Much like Lawrence, Pratt is positioning himself as a strong actor capable of fitting into any role, while still maintaining a playful sense of self in Hollywood’s dog-eat-dog world.

What’s up next for Pratt? “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” comes out in May — with a Marvel-sized amount of sequels and spinoffs to follow including “Avengers: Infinity War” — and “Jurassic World 2” out next year. To quote his character Andy Dwyer, “That is awesome sauce.”

Lilly Stuecklen is a junior television, radio and film major. Her column appears weekly in Pulp. She can be reached on Twitter @Stuecks or by email at lsstueck@syr.edu.

Published on April 27, 2017 at 12:12 am