Chris Pratt is opening up about the traumatic experience that inspired him to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
The 43-year-old, who was promoting his latest project, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, disclosed this revelation during a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight.
In the discussion on May 5, Pratt shared that when he was very young, he got lost while running errands with his parents at a mall in Minnesota. The father of three revealed that “by the grace of God,” a stranger found him wondering alone and helped him search for his family. While mentioning that his family didn’t notice that he was gone, Pratt said,
“I was walking in the mall holding, I thought, my mom’s hand. And then I just looked up and she wasn’t there and I was lost in the mall. I started to cry and some adult stranger, by the grace of God not some weirdo, found me and brought me back. We started looking around for my family [for] what felt like ages, finally found them — they were shopping and didn’t even notice I was gone.”
From that moment on after his parents failed to realized that he was missing, Pratt claimed that he made it a priority to be noticed in any room he walked in “just it case” this event were to occur again. He stated,
“I think from that moment forward I was like, ‘If I’m in the room, I’m gonna be loud.’ And I’m gonna be noticed and I’m gonna make sure everyone knows I’m there just in case I get lost. They’re gonna actually notice me. I really think that’s why I became an actor.”
Pratt rose to fame in the early 2000s when he starred in the short film Cursed Part 3. The actor would get a role in 2002 in the hit series Everwood. In addition to the show, Pratt would also work on various films. The star would ultimately get his big break in 2009 when he starred as Andy Dwyer in the beloved comedy Parks & Recreation. The series would last for seven seasons.
Following the success of Parks & Recreation, Pratt’s film career would shortly take off after he starred in 2014’s The Lego Movie and the first installment of Guardians of the Galaxy. Since then, Pratt has continued to dominate the box office with his highly profitable films, including his recent release The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The movie has generated over $1 billion a month after it debuted in theaters.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 are now playing in theaters.