American actor Chris Pratt recently revealed in an interview how he came into his faith in Christ at a point in his life where he was going down a completely different path.
As one of the busiest celebrities in Hollywood, he hasn't forgotten about his humble upbringing and how God intervened in his life to send him down the path he was meant to walk.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, the Guardians of the Galaxy star revealed the unorthodox way he came to believe in Jesus Christ.
Upbringing
Coming from a humble family, Pratt's father was a miner.
"He was a taconite miner in Minnesota," Pratt told me. "He worked in iron ore; that's a big industry. We moved to Alaska so he could work in gold mines. That's how we operated as a family"”we'd just make a decision, pick up, and move."
After a few years, when Pratt was 6 or 7 years old, the family settled in Lake Stevens, Washington which would become his beloved hometown.
Pratt would go on to become captain of his high school wrestling team, and at one point top wrestler in the state.
His father played high-school football, so naturally Pratt followed in his footsteps.
"He was bigger than me, much bigger, and he'd light up the stadium when he carried the ball. He wore number 76, and for years I thought the gas station was named for him. So of course I played," he said.
"I was a great football player. I was a fullback and an inside linebacker. I never had the speed to play college. But I loved it. I don't think anything will ever take its place. The competition, the team. You get a little bit of that in acting. You get it with action films. You have to train, be in shape. I think I learned more about how to handle myself as an actor playing sports than I ever did in theater," he said.
Before heading to Hollywood, Pratt worked as a door-to-door salesman and he believes this was the perfect training he needed to get into acting. He sold coupons for various things like oil changes and trips to the spa- but to him what the salesman was really selling was himself. It turned out this was part of the tools he needed for auditions and rejections.
"That's why I believe in God and the divine," he told me. "I feel like it was perfectly planned. People talk about rejection in Hollywood. I'm like, "˜You're outta your fuckin' mind. Did you ever have someone sic their dog on you at an audition?" '
The Moment That Changed His Life
After a failed salesman job, and moving back home with his parents, his life seemed to be floundering. That's one one of his best friends bought him a ticket to Hawaii, where he'd been living.
Pratt got a job at Bubba Gump Shrimp and was living on the beach with his friends. They had a van with a couch and a tent with a blanket. He and his pals would send people to make alcohol runs because they weren't old enough to drink yet.
It was here that his life changed.
Continue to the next page to see how his faith has shaped his future.
"I was sitting outside a grocery store"”we'd convinced someone to go in and buy us beer. This is Maui. And a guy named Henry came up and recognized something in me that needed to be saved. He asked what I was doing that night, and I was honest. I said, "˜My friend's inside buying me alcohol.' "˜You going to go party?' he asked. "˜Yeah.' "˜Drink and do drugs? Meet girls, fornication?' I was like, "˜I hope so.'" Pratt recalled.
"I was charmed by this guy, don't know why. He was an Asian dude, maybe Hawaiian, in his 40s. It should've made me nervous but didn't. I said, "˜Why are you asking?' He said, "˜Jesus told me to talk to you . . .' At that moment I was like, I think I have to go with this guy. He took me to church. Over the next few days I surprised my friends by declaring that I was going to change my life."
This is not the story you expect to hear from a mainstream Hollywood star, and frankly, it's refreshing. Pratt was able to take control of his life and his path had been clear ever since thanks to the Lord's guidance.
Faith and His Family
The Jurassic Park star met his wife Anna Faris on the set of "Take Me Home" and he believes that God had a plan for the two of them to be together.
"Anna and I are meant to be together. Our relationship has made me believe in divine intervention and destiny," he said.
He believes that they are the perfect match as a couple because they have so much in common.
"She and I grew up 20 minutes away from each other but never met until we met in L.A. We both got our start in horror spoofs. We both did an animated movie for Phil Lord and Chris Miller. We both made our careers playing guileless nitwits for laughs. We both have parents that have suffered with MS (Multiple Sclerosis). The similarities go on and on," he wrote.
Pratt and Faris first opened up about their faith after experiencing a scare with their son who was born 9 weeks premature.
"We were scared for a long time. We prayed a lot," Pratt confessed.
Even though doctors said their son Jack would live with disabilities because of his premature birth, he believes that God healed him in the NICU.
"It restored my faith in God, not that it needed to be restored, but it really redefined it," the actor said. "The baby was so beautiful to us, and I look back at the photos of him and it must have been jarring for other people to come in and see him, but to us he was so beautiful and perfect."
Jack is now happy and healthy as he is approaching his 5th birthday.
Open Faith
Pratt has not been shy about following his faith.
For Easter this year, he erected a giant cross on a hillside.
"It's Saturday before Easter, if you think about it, that's what Jesus was doing 2000-something years before on a Saturday before Easter, was carrying a cross up a hill!'"
He also takes his beliefs to his work in Hollywood.
In a run-in with an autograph-seeker, Pratt referenced his faith when addressing the fan.
"You should be nicer. You got a cross on your chest, and you're cussing me out?... Come on man, don't be a jerk," he said.
Pratt's faith isn't political and isn't part of his 'brand'. It's just seems to be part of who he is.
"I have my eyes on the prize. The big picture is my wife and my son and I living somewhere in L.A., just being able to be a Boy Scout leader, drink beer on Saturday, go to church on Sunday, having fun. I could coach him in football," he said.
We pray that God's plan for you gives you everything you hope for, Chris. You are a great example to many!