With filming for Guardians of the Galaxy now finished in the U.K., Chris Pratt recently returned to the United States where he attended a Parks and Recreation 100th episode celebration yesterday. Access Hollywood had a great chat with the Star-Lord actor about Rocket Raccoon, the "heart" of James Gunn's Marvel adaptation, and Bradley Cooper voicing the gun-toting creature. More below...
“You think it’s a cartoon character, but it’s not, it’s a very real creature,” said Chris Pratt. “[Rocket Raccoon has been] tortured his whole life and no one else likes him, so he’s lonely and he’s angry and it’s like, [there are] all these elements [to the character],” he continued. “You sort of forget about that, you wouldn’t think about, [and] hopefully will come to life. I think it will and that’s why they hired a really good actor to do the role. I could not be more excited that Bradley Cooper is voicing Rocket Raccoon, it’s a great character. It’s probably the best character in the movie, just because it’s not what you would expect,” Pratt added.
Speaking about his major physical transformation for his role as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, Chris says, “I used to have a six pack [during filming], I have a one pack now. I don’t want to go crazy and be someone who’s primary focus in life is fitness, life is too short to spend it always trying to work out,” he said. “But at the same time, I want balance… I want to be somewhere in between being super fat and being not super fat and so, just kind of fat, I guess.”
Meanwhile, Michael Rooker, who plays Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy, also has a few words about Rocket Raccoon. “Rocket and I don’t get along, he’s a bit abrupt and brash for my taste,” the Walking Dead actor told ScifiNow recently. “I probably have a little Merle in me still, because I would roast him over an open flame and eat him for supper!” Speaking more about his character, Rooker says, “The paparazzi have a bunch of photos of Yondu – I think Yondu was the first of the characters that got totally exposed – and you can see the character looks totally different from the comic.... the blue [paint] is simple, it’s beautiful. The colours that we use in Guardians are just exquisite. When everything is put together – when you have wardrobe on and the lighting’s going – man oh man it’s beautiful, it’s going to look fabulous.”
“Guardians of the Galaxy,” the next epic adventure from Marvel Studios, is directed by James Gunn from his screenplay, with a story by Nicole Perlman and Gunn, and the film will introduce audiences to a whole new side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The all-star cast includes Chris Pratt as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser, Michael Rooker as Yondu, Karen Gillan as Nebula, two-time Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou as Korath, Academy Award® winner Benicio del Toro as The Collector, Academy Award nominee John C. Reilly as Rhomann Dey, and six-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close as Nova Prime. Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” is slated for August 1, 2014!