Top Hollywood actor Chris Pratt is known the world over for his starring roles in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), Passengers (2016), The Magnificent Seven (2016), Jurassic World (2015) and the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies released in 2014 and 2017.

The movie business is not often kind to Christians who speak openly of their faith, but sometimes they just have to listen. At the 2018 MTV Movie Awards, Chris shocked the audience with some humorous upfront advice as he laid his cards on the table. Among other things he told them, “God is real, God loves you and God wants the best for you.” *1

Raised in the state of Washington, USA, Chris had little ambition and few cares as a teenager. He dropped out of college during his first year and worked as a ticket salesman, a daytime stripper, and took on various casual jobs to pay his basic bills. Ending up homeless in Maui, Hawaii, Chris and his friends often slept rough, drank alcohol, and smoked weed to pass the time. Eventually, Chris found a better job as a waiter at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company in Maui. It was here that actress and director Rae Dawn Chong discovered him in 1999 and cast him in the horror movie Cursed part 3, which was released the following year.

Chris was originally raised a Lutheran Christian. The foundation of Christian beliefs was still somewhere deep inside, but at this stage in his life they did not seem particularly relevant.

Although his first few years as an actor were a struggle, Chris eventually began to secure major roles. He hit the big time in 2014 when he was given lead roles in the two highest grossing movies of the year, The Leggo Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy, where he played ‘Star Lord’.

Hollywood generally has a cynical attitude towards Christians, but Chris had already found a place of acceptance before he returned to his faith. It was in 2012 when his son Jack was born prematurely that he began to earnestly seek God again.

Chris says that it was the preterm birth of his son Jack which brought him into a close and ‘defining’ relationship with God. Chris shared that he and Jack’s Mother both began to pray fervently when Jack was born prematurely. Early birth can cause innumerable complications  and they were naturally very concerned. But God answered their prayers. Chris says that the birth of Jack “really defined” his faith in the Christian God he had been taught about as a child. Speaking at the acceptance speech of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017, Chris said,

“I’m a man of faith and I believe that God works in mysterious ways and gives us signs and gifts in life, and those gifts oftentimes come in the form of people.”

Chris says he was sorely ‘tested’ when his little boy was born prematurely, but God was able to use that time to get through to him. The testing time became the lynchpin that secured his relationship with Jesus Christ and brought him into a strong and “defining” faith in God.

Chris remains committed to his faith as well as his acting career. He has worked for Jews for Jesus, a Christian outreach to Jewish people.

 

*1 For the full speech see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EihqXHqxri0

Photos:  Chris Pratt at the 2018 Tokyo Premiere of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Photo by Dick Thomas Johnson.  Image file licensed under the Creative Commons 2.0 License.

 

Story by Ralph Burden

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