Chris Pratt’s Rise From Hawaii Van Life to Hollywood Success Started With One Bold Moment

Clear Facts

• Chris Pratt lived in a van in Hawaii and worked at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company before entering acting.
• Actress Rae Dawn Chong discovered Pratt during a chance meeting at the restaurant and offered him his first role.
• Pratt went on to star in major franchises including Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World, and The Terminal List.

Chris Pratt has shared the story of how he went from living in a van in Hawaii to becoming one of Hollywood’s leading action stars.

Before fame, the actor spent his early days waiting tables at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company with little more than sixty dollars and a bag of clothes to his name.

One night, Rae Dawn Chong walked into the restaurant and Pratt seized the moment by asking her directly about acting opportunities.

“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?'” he recalled.

Chong asked if he could act, and Pratt responded with immediate enthusiasm, telling her to put him in her movie.

Without a phone of his own, Pratt gave her a friend’s number and soon received word that Chong was serious about the offer.

“I called her back, and sure enough, she was serious,” he wrote. “I drove over to pick up the script, went back to Mike’s house, and read all 120 pages three times in a row. First script I’d ever read. My character’s name was Devon, and I remember thinking, ‘Sweet! I could totally play a Devon!'”

After the audition, Chong confirmed that Pratt could act and cast him in the low-budget film Cursed Part 3, which filmed in Los Angeles.

“I remember thinking right then and there, my life just changed forever. I’m going to be an actor,” Pratt wrote. “That little movie was ‘Cursed Part 3,’ a low-budget horror comedy that opened the door to Hollywood for me. 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.”

That first role led to his breakout performance as Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation and eventually to the lead role of Star-Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.

Pratt has since appeared in Jurassic World, The Lego Movie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the television series The Terminal List.

He has also credited director James Gunn with changing his career trajectory and opening doors to new levels of recognition in the industry.

Pratt is married to Katherine Schwarzenegger and they have three children together.

He remains focused on fatherhood, emphasizing traditional family values and passing down lessons from his own upbringing to his children.

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