When it comes to Chris Pratt roles, most fans would tell you his best TV show is Parks And Recreation and best movie is (probably) Guardians of the Galaxy. What you may not know is the actor actually was at one time Andy Dwyer and Peter Quill at the same time. As one of his fellow Parks And Recreation cast members, Jim O’Heir, told us, the journey to the actor having both these iconic parts at once was unique to the industry.
CinemaBlend spoke to Jim O’Heir about his book,Welcome To Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation, which he called his “love letter” to the series that gave him his most iconic role, and a TV family for life. He spoke about interviewing some of the show’s cast and creators himself, including Chris Pratt. In his words:
There's stories about how, because of the amazing production and the team and Greg and the writers, they let Chris Pratt leave to do Guardians of the Galaxy. A lot of shows would never have done that. Like, you're under contract. We do this here. So Chris tells how that happened and let's face it, that was life altering for Chris Pratt. Now, I'm sure wonderful things would've happened anyway, he's a huge talent. But, he is now one of the top film stars in the world, like in the world. And that is because the people that ran our show knew how important it was to Chris Pratt, not to the show, not to anything other than the person. That was more important than the show. And I think that kind of stuff has to be known because it's rare. It's very, very rare.
As fans of the show may recall, Chris Pratt’s Andy Dwyer wasn’t around for the much of the first half of Season 6 of the NBC show because he was cast in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. The role was a breakout for the actor, pushing him into movie star territory. In short, it changed the course of his life forever. But as O’Heir shared with CinemaBlend. Pratt getting time off to make the movie isn’t something that usually happens in the biz.
You know another thing that doesn’t happen much in the biz? Pratt actually jumped right back into the role of Andy Dwyer after wrapping the big Marvel film and looked completely different-- he'd just stopped drinking beer for a month and lost 50 pounds. So, he ended up doing most of the sixth season after all. O’Heir said the situation is rather unheard of, but it definitely speaks to how much Pratt treasured being on the series. As O’Heir continued:
I can speak for all of us 'cause we've talked about this, so I don't think I'm speaking out of turn. If the reason ever came up that we ever did do it again, he would be there. Every one of us would be there. It was a special place. And I think we all understand what it did for all of our lives because, you know, people like Amy, they were already celebrities. She's gone on to do more amazing stuff. But, you know, Nick Offman and I always said we were just journeymen actors, going from show to show, trying to get a guest spot, trying to get a pilot or whatever. And then a show like Parks comes along and all of a sudden we're just giving offers for things we don't have to audition as much. It opened doors that would never have been opened. And that is all because of Parks and Recreation. And I, for one, and I, again, I feel comfortable speaking for the cast, I am eternally grateful.
Parks And Recreation was clearly a special experience for each of its actors, and it shows every time one of the actors talks about it. Tons of actors would have just quit a sitcom after moving into Marvel glory, but Chris Pratt did both. O’Heir’s words shows how much the series meant to its cast.
Along with O’Heir sharingChris Pratt’s Parks and Recreation story, during our conversation he also talked about how Pratt and the other cast had his back as he played the butt of many jokes as Jerry Gergich. He also spoke with us about how his character became a key part of the series with one hilarious Season 2 joke.
Welcome To Pawnee is now available to read, and you can relive Parks And Rec with a Peacock subscription.
