Chris Pratt Almost Gave Up On Marvel After So Many Failed Auditions

Before landing the role of Star-Lord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Chris Pratt auditioned for a number of other Marvel superhero movies, as well as Star Trek and Avatar. He didn’t land any of those roles, and he considered giving up on Marvel due to all the setbacks. Pratt spoke about this in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week.

He started off by confirming he auditioned for Captain America, a role that ultimately went to Chris Evans. “Oh man, yeah I did. I auditioned for them all. I had a rough run with Marvel,” Pratt said (via Variety).

Pratt also auditioned for the movie Thor, but not as the main character (which Chris Hemsworth eventually got), but one of Thor’s side-kicks, Pratt said. He didn’t get a call back.

“I auditioned for all of them. It got to the point where I was never going to audition for Marvel again. I was like, ‘This is stupid. I’m never going to be in a Marvel movie,'” Pratt said. “Anything that came out that needed a guy that even remotely looked like me, I auditioned for, in some way or another. I would either submit a tape, and they would either say, ‘No, we don’t need to see him’ or I would get there and see them, and they would go, ‘That’s the last time we need to see you.'”

Pratt said he never auditioned for a DC character, but he did try out for “heroic” characters in the Star Trek and Avatar franchises. He didn’t get those roles either.

“Anything that was like, ‘This guy walks in and he’s got the it factor.’ Over and over again I was like, ‘Well, I definitely don’t have that it factor they’re looking for,'” Pratt said.

In the end, Pratt got the role of Star-Lord for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and reprises the role for one last time in May’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Pratt also starred in the juggernaut Jurassic World film series and his voice can be heard as Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Pratt is voicing another iconic animated character, Garfield, in the upcoming movie about the lasagna-loving feline.