Actors have a long history of transforming their bodies for their work. It is never easy to lose weight; it takes dedication, self-control, and respect for the craft. Chris Pratt, for instance, is said to have done the same when he decided to lose almost 30 pounds in order to play Scott Hatteberg in the 2011 sports biographical drama, Moneyball.
Chris Pratt has been active in the entertainment industry since 2000. Though many people are familiar with him from his roles in Jurassic World, The LEGO Movie, and the Guardians of the Galaxy series, getting enticing roles was not always as simple for him. For example, he almost lost the chance to appear in 2011’s Moneyball because he was said to be too fat for the role.
Moneyball had a number of directors, including David Frankel and Steven Soderbergh, before Bennett Miller was finally chosen to take over, and the film was a commercial success.
Even so, Moneyball ended up being nominated for six Oscars that year.
Chris Pratt Was ‘Too Fat’ For Moneyball
In Hollywood, it has never been easy to land major film roles. Chris Pratt faced criticism for his weight before becoming a recognized action star. For example, he was told he was “too fat” to play Scott Hatteberg when he auditioned for the Moneyball movie. Thus, the actor decided to lose that extra weight before he was cast, as he told Entertainment Weekly in 2014:
“I’d check, maybe, once a week. I’d say, ‘They cast it yet?’ And I would just keep working out. Finally, I got in good enough shape that I took a picture of myself and sent it to my agent.”
He eventually got the part. Later on, it was discovered that his initiative and tenacity were only for the movie, as he put on a lot of weight after Moneyball to get a part in another film.
The cast of the Bennett Miller-directed film also includes Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Stephen Bishop, and Kathryn Morris.
How Did Chris Pratt Prepare For His Moneyball Role?
Chris Pratt decided to change his body after learning from his agents that the Moneyball casting team thought he was “too fat”. He stopped drinking alcohol and adhered to a strict diet in order to lose weight. He revealed it to Vanity Fair in 2017:
“That was the first time I heard someone say, ‘We’re not gonna cast you — you’re too fat’. So I decided to drop the weight, like in wrestling. I couldn’t afford a trainer, so it was all running and crash-dieting and cutting alcohol.”
Pratt received a lot of praise for his role in Moneyball. His career was then boosted by the movie, which received numerous Academy Award nominations. He went on to star in dramas like Her and Zero Dark Thirty after Moneyball.
However, the actor made a name for himself as an action star and leading man in 2014, thanks to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
He returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a number of other movies, including Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, as the superhero Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.
He was last seen in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, which was a critical and commercial success. Also, it became the third-highest-grossing film of 2023. The film is streaming on Disney Plus.
In the meantime, if you have not seen Moneyball yet, you can stream it on Max.
Source- Entertainment Weekly
