Chris Pratt auditioned for the role of ‘Captain America’.
The ‘Jurassic World’ star has become a key member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe through his portrayal of Star-Lord in the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ franchise, but he could have been part of the MCU as the shield-wielding super-soldier if things had gone differently.
The revelation was made by Marvel Studios casting director Sarah Finn, who said the audition put him in the frame for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ even though he missed out on the role of ‘Cap’ Steve Rogers to Chris Evans.
Although Finn was convinced that Pratt, 40, was the right man to bring Star-Lord, aka Peter Quill, to life on the big screen she had to convince director James Gunn to let him audition.
Finn said: "James Gunn has been very generous about this in saying that I, to the point of annoying him, kept insisting that Chris Pratt was the guy for the part, but Chris didn’t want to play the part and refused to audition."
Finn insists Pratt’s audition was a "eureka moment" as they knew instantly he was their Star-Lord.
She recalled: "I finally got him to audition and James Gunn said he didn’t want to see him and that really was a challenge. I was really happy when I finally got them together and it was honestly one of those eureka moments that we talk about in casting when it absolutely feels right and you know it’s right. James turned to me within ten seconds and said, ‘He’s the guy.’ "
Pratt has gone on to portray Star-Lord in two ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ films and the last two ‘Avengers’ blockbusters and will reprise his role as the spaceship captain in a third ‘Guardians’ flick.