Chris Pratt, best known for his role on Parks and Recreation, was in for a shock when he auditioned for a rare dramatic movie role: he was told he was too fat.
“My agent called me and said, ‘Chris, they really thought you were good, but they think you’re too fat,'” says Pratt. He seemed to take it in stride: “I was like, ‘F*ck, really? That sucks. OK, well, I can lose weight. Did you tell them I could lose weight?’
And that’s what he did. Pratt proceeded to a three-month period of hitting the gym and in that time he didn’t even know he had the part yet. Thirty pounds down, he finally found out he got the supporting role in the Brad Pitt-led project “Moneyball” playing major league catcher and first baseman Scott Hatteberg. Pitt plays Billy Bean, the general manager of the Oakland A’s.
Ironically, the film also includes Jonah Hill, the heavyset comedic actor who recently set out to drop 30 pounds for his role in the film adaptation of the ‘80s hit TV show “21 Jump Street.” Pictures revealed he almost certainly lost much more than that.
Unfortunately for Pratt, he prepared for another role after “Moneyball” (a film titled “10 Year”), that took him well passed his weight we all knew him at on Parks and Recreation.
“I went from 220 pounds that I cut down for ‘Moneyball’ to almost 270-280 pounds for ’10 Year,'” says Pratt. He did it by drinking lots of dark beer and eating just about every fatty food you can think of, like burgers, fries and pancakes.
So, some may wonder why Pratt would be asked to lose weight for his role as a baseball player in the first place. It’s not like he’s exactly fat and there are definitely major leaguers who are heavy. They also happen to be some of the more elite players.
CC Sabathia is a major league baseball pitcher on the biggest stage there is: playing for the New York Yankees. He’s listed as 6’7” and nearly 300 pounds. His weight is ignored because he consistently pitches lights out and with an earned run average at around three.
Another star is Prince Fielder, first baseman for the upstart Milwaukee Brewers. He and his father, former slugger Cecil Fielder, are on the heavy side. Interestingly, Prince Fielder says he is a vegetarian. At 5’11” and 275 pounds, he’s testimony that cutting out meat isn’t an automatic ticket to being thin. His weight is also not made an issue since he consistently hits north of 30 home runs every year and bats for average as well.
Sure, Pratt could have played a baseball player at the weight we know him at on Parks and Recreation, but since he’s playing the role of a real life major leaguer, it was probably best to mimic Hatteberg’s build. Now let’s hope he gets another role to bring his weight back down to a healthy number.
(via: Huffington Post images: Screencrave.com / azsnakepit.com)