Chris Pratt on going from a van in Hawaii to Hollywood: 'My life just changed forever'

Chris Pratt was living out of a van and waiting tables at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company in Maui, Hawaii when the moment arrived that would eventually lead to 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' 'Jurassic World,' and a Marvel franchise. He had about $60 to his name. He didn't own a phone. He nearly missed the call entirely.

In a recent post on X, the 47-year-old actor laid out the full story of how actress Rae Dawn Chong walked into the restaurant one night and changed the course of his life.

One day, the incredible Rae Dawn Chong walked into the restaurant, and naturally, I went up to her table and said, 'Hey, you're a movie star! What are you doing here?'— Chris Pratt, actor

Chong — daughter of comedian and actor Tommy Chong — asked whether Pratt could act. His answer was immediate.

She asked if I could act, and I said, 'F— yeah, put me in your movie!'— Chris Pratt, actor

There was one problem: when Chong asked for his number, Pratt didn't have one. Living out of a van, he had no phone to give her. He handed over his friend Mike's number instead — and then waited.

A couple days later, Mike casually mentions, 'Oh, by the way, someone called you.' ARE YOU KIDDING ME, MIKE?!— Chris Pratt, actor

Pratt called Chong back, confirmed the offer was real, drove over to collect the script, and returned to Mike's house to read all 120 pages — three times in a row. It was the first script he had ever read.

My character's name was Devon, and I remember thinking, 'Sweet! I could totally play a Devon!'— Chris Pratt, actor

After the audition, Chong told him he could act and offered him the part. The film was shooting in Los Angeles — a significant logistical problem for a man with $60, a bag of clothes, and a pair of rollerblades. Then Chong told him the production would fly him out.

I remember thinking right then and there, my life just changed forever. I'm going to be an actor.— Chris Pratt, actor

The film was 'Cursed Part 3,' a low-budget horror comedy. Pratt credits it as the door that opened Hollywood to him.

I'll forever be grateful to Rae for taking a chance on a kid working at a shrimp restaurant. Everybody starts somewhere, and this is where it all began for me.— Chris Pratt, actor

Pratt has shared versions of this story before. In a 2014 Facebook post, he shared a photograph of the van — which was painted in a Scooby-Doo design — and wrote: 'That is the van I lived in!!! In my hand is the script for the movie that got me out of Maui. Crazy.'

From 'Cursed Part 3,' Pratt's career built steadily. He landed the breakout role of Andy Dwyer on NBC's 'Parks and Recreation,' which led to his casting as Peter Quill — Star-Lord — in Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy.' That role, he has said, was the last audition he ever had to take.

He found a working actor who had already at that point done way better than most people who come out to town. I wasn't a waiter any longer, I was a series regular on a show. I was getting recognition. He brought me to a whole new level that ultimately changed the entire way the industry saw me.— Chris Pratt, actor, speaking about 'Guardians of the Galaxy' director James Gunn in May 2023

Since 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' Pratt has appeared in the 'Jurassic World' franchise, voiced characters in 'The Lego Movie,' 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie,' and 'Onward,' and has starred in the TV series 'The Terminal List' since 2022, along with standalone films including 'Passengers,' 'The Magnificent Seven,' and 'The Tomorrow War.'

Why it matters — Pratt's account — told in his own words — is a rare, detailed first-person window into how careers in Hollywood can hinge on a single unplanned moment, and how close that moment came to never happening at all.

Reported by foxnews.com, devdiscourse.com