Being a struggling actor in Hollywood is tough, and even huge stars like Chris Pratt go through the wringer early in their careers (like working at Bubba Gump Shrimp). Such was the case when Pratt lost out on the titular role on the show Chuck. Pratt auditioned for the role in 2007, but lost it to Zachary Levi. That has got to be hard enough, but for Pratt, it was made worse as he was taunted by a billboard for the show in LA. Pratt got the last laugh on the casting directors of the show years later when he got his own poster on the same building for Jurassic World.
After trying out for and not making the final cut for Chuck, things got worse when a billboard Pratt could see from his apartment went up advertising the show, with Levi featured on it. Pratt recently talked about it with Barstool:
I did a screen test for Chuck. I wanted it so bad, and then there was this giant billboard across from my apartment of Zach Levi as Chuck, and I’m like, ‘grrr.’
Imagine waking up every morning and looking out the window at a billboard that you hoped would have your face on it, only to see someone else you lost out to. It would be maddening! Pratt kept at it, of course, and eventually landed gigs in Jennifer’s Body and Moneyball, before really breaking big as part of the ensemble cast of Parks and Rec. It wasn’t until 2015 when the moment came full circle, at the premiere of one of Pratt’s earliest blockbusters, Jurassic World.
The moment wasn’t lost on Pratt, as he explained:
Then that same building is where we had the premiere for Jurassic World. And that same building had a giant poster on it with me on a motorcycle, and I was like, 'whoa!'
That really is coming full circle, from what sounds like a real low point early in his career to the triumph of starring in one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood history. Jurassic World came right on the heels of Pratt joining the MCU as Star-Lord in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, so he had become one of the biggest movie stars on the planet.
So does this mean he’s got a “hidden rivalry” with Levi? Well, probably not. He doesn’t seem to have an animosity towards the Shazam! star, just frustration for not getting a part at that point in his career. It’s safe to say that things have worked out pretty well for Pratt, who will next be seen on the 2026 movie schedule in Way of the Warrior Kid, which will be available to watch with an Apple TV subscription.
