Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor and comedian known for starring in both television and action films. He rose to prominence for his television roles, particularly as Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation (2009–2015), for which he received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2013. He also starred earlier in his career as Bright Abbott in The WB drama series Everwood (2002–2006) and had roles in Wanted (2008), Jennifer's Body (2009), Moneyball (2011), The Five-Year Engagement (2012), Movie 43 (2013), Zero Dark Thirty (2013), Delivery Man (2013), and Her (2013). Pratt went on to establish himself as a Hollywood leading man in 2014, with lead roles in two critically and commercially successful films: Warner Animation Group's The Lego Movie as Emmet Brickowski, and Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy as Star-Lord. In 2015, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.Pratt starred in Jurassic World (2015) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), and he reprised his Marvel role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019). Meanwhile, in 2016 he was part of an ensemble cast in The Magnificent Seven and the male lead in Passengers. Christopher Michael Pratt was born on June 21, 1979, in Virginia, Minnesota, the youngest child of Kathleen Louise (née Indahl), who worked at a Safeway supermarket, and Daniel Clifton Pratt, who worked in mining and later remodeling houses. Pratt's father died in 2014 from multiple sclerosis. His mother is of Norwegian descent. When Pratt was seven years old, the family moved to Lake Stevens, Washington. Pratt placed fifth in a high school state wrestling tournament; he later recalled that when his wrestling coach asked him what he wished to do with his life, he said "'I don't know, but I know I'll be famous and I know I'll make a shit ton of money.' I had no idea how. I'd done nothing proactive." He graduated from Lake Stevens High School in 1997. Pratt dropped out of community college halfway through the first semester and, after working as a discount ticket salesman and daytime stripper, he ended up homeless in Maui, Hawaii, sleeping in a van and a tent on the beach. He told The Independent, "It's a pretty awesome place to be homeless. We just drank and smoked weed and worked minimal hours, just enough to cover gas, food, and fishing supplies." He recalled listening to the Dr. Dre album 2001 daily, to the point where he knew every lyric; years later, he rapped Eminem's verses from the song "Forgot About Dre" extemporaneously during an interview. During his time in Maui, he worked for Christian missionary organization Jews for Jesus. At age 19, Pratt was waiting tables at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant in Maui when he was discovered by actress and director Rae Dawn Chong. She cast him in her directorial debut, the short horror film Cursed Part 3, which was filmed in Los Angeles. Pratt's first regular television role was as Harold Brighton "Bright" Abbott on the series Everwood. After Everwood's cancellation, he joined the cast of The O.C. for its fourth season, playing activist Winchester "Ché" Cook. He also had an appearance in the 2008 action film Wanted, where James McAvoy hits him with a keyboard. In 2009, Pratt began playing Andy Dwyer on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation. Originally meant to be a temporary character, producers liked Pratt so much they asked him to become a series regular. This proved to be his breakthrough role. Pratt portrayed Oakland Athletics first baseman/catcher Scott Hatteberg in the 2011 film Moneyball. He was initially told that he was too fat to play Hatteberg, as he had gained 40 pounds (18 kg), which Pratt attributed to the cooking of his then-girlfriend, actress Anna Faris. Deciding to lose weight, he worked out continuously, regularly checking to see if the part was cast, losing a total of 30 pounds (14 kg). When he felt he had lost enough, he sent a photo of himself to the casting director and won the part. Prior to the release of Moneyball, Pratt was typecast as youthful and somewhat immature characters. In Moneyball, he played a dramatic role as a father and dejected baseball player who once feared his career was over and who had the difficult task of learning a new defensive position. He gained back the weight he had lost to appear in the film 10 Years (2011), then lost it again to portray a Navy SEAL in the film Zero Dark Thirty (2012). He played the co-worker of Joaquin Phoenix character in Spike Jonze's sci-fi romance Her in December 2013.