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Chris Pratt almost gave up on Marvel after a bad Thor audition

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By Lauren Milici published 1 May 2023

"I was like, 'This is stupid, I’m never gonna be in a Marvel movie'"

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Guardians of the Galaxy 3
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)
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Chris Pratt nearly gave up on Marvel after a string of failed auditions.

"I auditioned for Thor, but not even to be Thor – but to be one of the sidekick guys, and I didn’t get a callback," Pratt said during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. "Usually they give you a little bit of feedback, and I remember the casting director goes, 'Wow. You really made a big choice there.' Which is code for like, ‘Hey, dial back the acting there, guy.'"

Pratt spent seven seasons on NBC's popular Amy Poehler-led sitcom Parks and Recreation, in which he played Andy Dwyer – boyfriend and eventual husband to Aubrey Plaza's April Ludgate. The actor wrapped up in filming in 2014, the same year he was cast as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy.

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

Pratt would go on to play Star-Lord in all three Guardians movies - four if you include the Christmas Special- and made cameos in other Marvel movies including Thor: Love and Thunder.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters on May 5. For more, check out our list of all the exciting upcoming films in 2023 and beyond.

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Lauren Milici
Lauren Milici
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Senior Entertainment Writer

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

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