Guardians Of The Galaxy Director James Gunn Was Tricked Into Auditioning One Marvel Star

It's not impossible to imagine James Gunn's superb "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies without Chris Pratt as Star-Lord — Jake Gyllenhaal or Ryan Reynolds, for instance, could've been right for it in theory — but he was an unexpected yet excellent choice for the part. But the truth is, Gunn didn't want him initially. In an appearance on the "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard" podcast, the writer-director recalled how the whole audition process went down before the shoot of the first "GOTG" film began. He said:

"We auditioned literally 300 people, easy, for Star-Lord. We screen-tested 25 actors. I could not find the guy. [...] The famous story around it is that I didn't want to see Chris [Pratt] because I'm like, 'This joker? No way!' And Chris had been turned down by a lot of things, and he didn't want to have to do that again. Sarah Finn, the casting director, talked me into it. I think she tricked me into it. She set up the meeting without telling me, but we were so desperate that I'm like, 'I guess he's coming in.' He came and started his audition. And I'm serious, it wasn't 12 seconds into the audition, and I turned around to Sarah and said, 'He's the one.'"

Apart from his fan-favorite character Andy Dwyer in "Parks and Recreation," Pratt wasn't exactly getting a lot of intriguing parts at the time, let alone leading roles. He wasn't a star yet. Thus, Gunn had to do a lot of convincing to his bosses that Pratt would be great, and his bet, despite the initial reluctance, definitely paid off in a huge way.

Despite appearing in such movies as "Wanted," "Bride Wars," and "Jennifer's Body," and TV shows like "The O.C." and "Everwood" early in his career, Pratt was a long way from being the kind of leading man he is today. I mean, "Parks and Rec" fans (including me) always suspected that he could become someone in Hollywood, but I doubt any of us would've bet on him playing the lead in a big-budget superhero movie even before his days as Andy Dwyer came to an end on the small screen. He was a chubby goofball with a charming vibe, not exactly the action hero type. He probably knew that, too, so when the opportunity rolled around with Gunn and Marvel, he became determined, lost weight, got shredded, and gave his all to play the leader of a ragtag team roaming around in the galaxy.

It was the ideal (but also challenging) role for him at the time because Quill/Star-Lord shared some of that earnest dumbness and silly energy that Andy had on "Parks and Rec," while also being a cool(ish) hero with a heart of gold. Pratt already had the humor part down by then, but he had to develop a badass charisma for the action and an endearing vulnerability that made Quill effortlessly likable and human. Ultimately, it was the kind of combination that also rang true for the movie (and for the "GOTG" franchise as a whole), resonating deeply with audiences through a group of outcasts who'd go to bat for each other whenever they needed to.

One thing's certain: Pratt owes a lot to casting director Sarah Finn for tricking Gunn into auditioning him, and ultimately turning him into a movie star.