Chris Pratt Recalls Maui Meeting That Launched Career

Chris Pratt says his first acting opportunity came after he approached actress Rae Dawn Chong while waiting tables at a Maui restaurant and living in a van. Chong, who was casting a film, asked him to audition; because Pratt had no phone, he gave her a friend’s number and nearly missed her call. After retrieving and reading the script repeatedly, Pratt auditioned and landed the role, setting him on a path from financial hardship to a Hollywood career.