Chris Pratt bombed his first Marvel audition so badly that he almost gave up

For nearly a decade, Chris Pratt has played Peter Quill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but his journey to the franchise was challenging. While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Chris Pratt said he bombed his first MCU audition so badly that he almost gave up hope that he would be in a Marvel movie.

“I auditioned for Thor, but not even to be Thor — but to be one of the sidekick guys, and I didn’t get a callback,” Chris Pratt said. The actor added that you typically get some feedback after an audition, but not in his case. “I remember the casting director goes, ‘Wow. You really made a big choice there,’” Pratt said. “Which is code for like, ‘Hey, dial back the acting there, guy.’” He said it “got to the point where I was never gonna audition for Marvel again. I was like, ‘This is stupid, I’m never gonna be in a Marvel movie.’“

Chris Pratt spent a lot of time auditioning for anything that came his way, but nothing worked out. “I would either submit a tape and they would say ‘No, we don’t need to see him,’ or I would get there and see them, they’d go, ‘No, that’s the last time we need to see you,’” Pratt said. Thankfully, Chris Pratt’s next Marvel audition went much better as he was cast as Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy. He went on to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finds our beloved band of misfits settling into life on Knowhere. But it isn’t long before their lives are upended by the echoes of Rocket’s turbulent past. Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him on a dangerous mission to save Rocket’s life—a mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them. The first reactions to the threequel have been reasonably positive, with some calling it the best Marvel movie since Endgame.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will hit theaters on May 5th, so be sure to check out the review from our own Chris Bumbray.