Last September, Screen Rant had the opportunity to visit the London production of Guardians of the Galaxy to explore the sets, meet the cast and crew, check out some artwork, props, and costumes for the upcoming Marvel Studios feature film. Pinewood Studios is practically home to Marvel Studios with Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor: The Dark World booth using the location in prior years. Even The Avengers: Age of Ultron will shoot most of its scenes there this year.

We'll have more interviews, content and cool Easter Eggs related to the set visit as we get closer to the August release date of Guardians of the Galaxy but for today we're going to share an interview with the star of the film, Chris Pratt. Pratt, best known for playing the lovable and clumsy Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation, suits up as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord in Marvel's space-based adventure and unlike most non-Avengers movies introducing new heroes, Quill is not solo lead. Guardians is the tale of an unlikely group of unique individuals with shady pasts who find something greater to fight for together - and it's Star-Lord who unites them.

In our group interview with Pratt, we talk about getting into superhero shape for the role, how the props and sets make his job easier, working with CG cast mates, defining Peter Quill and fusing comedy with badass, using movies to offer a new take on the comics, what comics director James Gunn recommended for research, his favorite characters in the movie, and scheduling. At the time, the shooting of Parks and Rec had to work around and fit in Pratt's work on the movie in London.

High-res Guardians of the Galaxy Official Photo

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Stepping into a world like this, is part of the kick learning to play with everything and learning to live in that space?

Pratt: Yeah I guess that's part of it, it's definitely part of it. I think you're talking about the props and toys and sets and costumes. All that stuff makes my job easy, it's not easy, but it makes it much easier because it's doing a lot of the work the props, the costume, mask and guns, everything that distracts the viewers attention from me I invite, just in case I fuck it up please just look at the cool guns.

Backing off of that question, when we visited the guys in props, they said they sent you the blasters ahead of time, what was it like the first time you got your blaster?

Yea, they sent me the gun and I think they wanted to see how it matched up against my hand, but at the time all I was worried about was "I'm going to send them pictures of me holding this gun and they're going to think I'm too fat and fire me."

[Laughs]

That's all I remember thinking, I was like still very much in the process of losing weight so I was like sucking it in holding the gun. My wife was like, "You look uncomfortable in this photo." I said, "I am! God." So I sent in the photo and immediately after they were like, "hey by the way we need to come get your sizes again." I was like, "I know." But it was pretty neat, they're definitely awesome props. It's funny because we have a great prop department here and they're purists so some of them are a little reticent to accept the 3D printer into their world because they make practical props and build stuff out of nothing, out of parts that they tinker with and stuff like that, so I think the idea of a 3D printer is a little bit scary because you know, it's like the printing press. It's new and exciting that they use it because this stuff looks amazing.

Official Guardians of the Galaxy Star-Lord Movie Props & Costume

Star-Lord's Blasters, Mask & Jet Boots

How are you balancing the scheduling with the TV show with this?

Well, that was all something that NBC and Marvel worked out beforehand, as they were finalizing the details of my deal they said "We'll let him out for some episodes but he does have to come back," NBC was awesome to let me out and I'm missing probably six episodes but I did, they came out here to London and we did a couple of episodes out here in London and also I went back for a ten-day stretch in August and did another episode so I'm going back and forth a little bit making it work, and when I wrap on this I'll just go immediately back to the show.

I imagine it's difficult balancing being a badass and being super funny...

By badass you mean Andy Dwyer, right? [laughs] Now, they're both super badass so it's really easy…

[Laughs] Were there any characters you were inspired by or looked back on and thought, I sort of want to be in that realm?

You think going into something that as an actor you can take performances you've seen before and want to take influence off of it but that's not necessarily what I did. I know some actors probably work that way, but I've heard Kevin [Feige] say that he thought the stuff he's looking at he thought it's like Han Solo-meets-Marty McFly, which I think is cool, but that wasn't an intentional thing at all. I think to seek the truth is, I think at least with me is, I know that me personally I'm different than anyone else, just like our mothers all tell us we're all very special and unique and we are, and I think if an actor can stick to trying to make the character resemble something from their own spirit it will automatically be unique. It's not necessarily going to be trying to be Han Solo or trying to be Marty McFly or trying to be any other character you've seen before, it's like, "no, this is gonna be just me in this role."

Has there been a more surreal day on set over any others?

Yes. We have a set for a place called Morag. It’s mind-blowing. And there’s another day in something called… Oh, I don’t want to give this away. Am I giving stuff away? There’s something called the Kiln, which is another set, and there’s one surreal day when we had a second called Michael. He’s a guy who’s worked with Stanley Kubrick, I mean he’s been around for ages. You can sit and listen to this guy talk about working on movies. He’s worked in the business for like 50 years. And he was doing crowd control on a hundred and sixty extras—all of whom had gone through extensive alien makeup. And we’re on a set that’s maybe as big as this warehouse that we’re in right now, but maybe even taller. And there are prison cells all the way around, a giant tower in the middle, and there’s this long - Look I’m getting Goosebumps (laughter) - there’s this long crane.

Guardians of the Galaxy - Prison Team Shot

Busting out of Kiln

That was in the sizzle reel we saw this morning, what James was talking about that one long shot.

Yes. That long one shot that was put together. And I’m watching Michael, who’s worked with Stanley Kubrick, directing these extras, saying, “Remember, if you can see the camera, the camera can see you! You are in a prison!” (Laughter) “You are not happy!” (Laughter) And then we’re walking through, and there’s this long, dollying crane shot that’s on our backs and then lifts up and then circles around, you see a fight break out and then it pans down to a second level and you see these ominous prisoners grab someone and drag them into a cell. And then it goes down even further and you’re seeing details that I don’t want to give away, but you’ll know this shot. It was so surreal because the shot ends on my face looking around taking it all in. And then it quickly cuts out and that moment…it’s been five months of moments like that. It’s really, really crazy. I’m like, how much does this cost per second, I wonder? (Laughter)

I’m going to go a little in-depth about the character. This is s guy who’s half-human, half-alien. We know the movie starts on earth, but is set mostly in space. I’m kind of curious, is the character more informed by who he was on earth or is he more informed by who he has become in space?

No, I think at this point he’s definitely more informed by who he was on earth. I like the arc of the character, it’s a very human arc. It’s really based on who he was and what was taken from him as a kid and something that he missed and lacks that he has to gain through the course of the movie. That’s definitely what we’re focusing on.

How old is he when he leaves earth?

When he leaves earth he’s a kid. He's like nine or ten, he’s like a kid. Is that a spoiler?

Nah, it's in the art room when he's a kid and you can see a ship - 

No, no, no he’s a thirty year-old - He’s got pituitary issues. (Laughter) A thirty year-old, four-foot three kid. But yeah, he’s about nine years old and you get to see the origin of who he is and why he is the way he is when you meet him as an adult later in space.

Guardians of the Galaxy Young Peter Quill Concept
Young Peter Quill on Earth

Young Peter Quill on Earth

To kind of go off of that, in the sizzle at Comic-Con that we saw again today (watch the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer here!), You say, “I’m Star-Lord,” and Korath says, “Who?” Obviously that’s going to be a lot of the general public reaction to Star-Lord as well. Is that something that benefited you as far as being able to make this character your own and how you developed him?

That idea was actually a collaboration, I think. Because I don’t think in the original incarnation, or the original script that it was. I remember reading it and my thought was, why is he just saying "I am Star-Lord"? And then I talked to James [Gunn] and I was like, “Maybe there should be this moment where it’s like, “Who? Who is that?” And I feel like that was something we collaborated on. But what’s great is the stakes of what happens in the movie legitimizes this nickname he’d love to have himself be called. I don't want to give away too much but you see why he's called Star-Lord in this movie.

Is the fact that the general movie-going public being introduced to these characters, really for the first time - unlike characters more familiar like Iron Man and Captain America - Is that a benefit to you as an actor making the character your own?

I don’t necessarily know if it affects me one way or another. I think it makes sense that… it’s a good question. I think it probably is helpful that people don’t know who he is because it would be my intention to want to make him my own, anyways. But I feel like that’s something that Robert Downey Jr. did with Iron Man. He came in and he is Tony Stark – and he kind of is now because he can probably afford like weapon systems [laughs]. The guy could probably seriously build his own suit now with all the money he’s making.

[Laughs]

But to be honest, I don’t know Robert Downey Jr., but I’m just assuming! I don’t even know him, so maybe that’s not how he is at all. Maybe he has a British accent and is a totally different person than Tony Stark. But to me it seems like, “Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark.” And was a guy people knew, people obviously knew Iron Man – maybe not as much as Captain America or other characters - but that is something that I would like to try to do, just keep it real and keep it close to who I am, and maybe the fact that no one knows these characters, that’ll be helpful. And it probably will be helpful, because you think of it like those Star Wars movies that came out, the prequels that came out - There’s a lot of expectations there, and to shoulder a project with preconceived notions, expectations and all these things, it really makes it difficult. It makes it difficult if you spend the whole movie trying to satisfy what people think they know about a character. The first Star Wars didn't have that problem because it’s all brand new. You just take it for what it is. So what I’m saying is that we will be better than Star Wars. [laughs]

Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Production Art

[Laughs] Do you have a character other than yourself who you’re a big fan of?

In this story?

Yeah.

Oh man. I think Drax is awesome. Not only the character but Dave Bautista the actor. I just really adore him so much and think he’s very, very good. So unique. I just really love him. And I think Rocket is a great character, and not just in a way that you would think. There’s a lot of heart there. James [Gunn] did a great job of looking at Rocket as a real character rather than a cartoon character. And so when you see the story unfold… you should kind of feel bad for anything that was kind of created out of nothing. There’s a sense of loneliness and this inner pain that Rocket feels that hopefully the audience will empathize with that makes him a really sympathetic character, but also so badass because he’s a raccoon with a machine gun! So that’s good. I like him. I mean, all the characters are really great, but those two probably in particular right now.

So much of the film is about building an ensemble that works together by the end. In terms of the ensemble of the cast, it’s such an amazing group of people and such an eclectic group to put together, have you seen that happen over the course of the film, coming together and figuring it all out as you've been working?

Yeah, I think, probably. The synergy of the whole group we obviously don’t get to really feel on set because two of the characters are CG, and I’m hoping that when it’s all said and done and you can… what’s kind of great is that when I see this movie, for so much of it I’m going to be a spectator, seeing sequences I didn't know what they looked like, characters that I don’t really know how they’re going to look,  you know what I mean? But we've definitely come together and gotten to know each other better, but this has been unlike any other movies I've been on where you walk away from set and just the cast goes and hangs out and stuff like that. We’re just working non-stop [laughs]. We have been working so much. We've gotten to know each other pretty well because we've been together for five months in a foreign country. But it’s been eye on the prize this whole time. There hasn't been a lot of down time to do anything. At least for me – I feel like I've been working every second.

Guardians of the Galaxy Team Photo (Strutting Together)
The whole gang is back for Vol. 2

How have you been adjusting to the fact that you’re dealing with two CGI characters throughout the entire film?

It turns out it’s kind of the same as just it being not CGI. You’re still kind of just standing there, looking at something and pretending and saying the words, you know [Laughs]. It hasn't been that hard. I think it would be a lot harder if we didn't have Sean Gunn playing Rocket. I mean, Groot doesn't have that much dialogue in the movie. I don’t know if that’s supposed to be a spoiler or not -

I am Groot.

Everyone knows that he says, “I am Groot” and... that’s it?

Yeah [laughs]

So much of what actors do is just listening and responding. And so when you’re working with a great actor, even when they’re off-camera, it’s very easy just to listen to what they’re saying, respond, understand that they’re listening to you. There’s this connection, there’s this flow that happens just when you’re talking to people, and that’s been really great with Sean because, like I said, a lot of the stuff that happens with Rocket, there are moments of real drama and real emotion, and he has committed so hard to it. So when he’s off-camera, I’m responding to someone I feel really bad for rather than, like, a tennis ball or something.

Guardians of the Galaxy - Star-Lord Muscles (Chris Pratt)

Can you talk about the physical transformation you went through, losing some of the weight and did it change the way you are physically as an actor?

Yeah, I think it definitely changed. There’s a lot of elements that really, like I said, made it easy for me. And like the costume and the hair and the makeup and the props and the sets, and then working out and getting in good shape, like, I would just like get out of hair and makeup and have my costume on and look at myself in the mirror and I would just not even see myself staring back. I would see like Peter Quill or like this kind of Star-Lord character (laughs). I was like "this is fucking cool, man. (laughter) So yeah, that... It’s a third of what I do, I think as an actor, is just what I look like, you know? I’m a prop. And I talk and I listen and I feel things and I have a certain rhythm to my spirit, all of which, all of those things I can manipulate, but the way I look is also something you can manipulate, but it probably takes a third of the performance, you know. That’s why there are people that are just like completely dull and have like nothing going on the inside, but when you look at ‘em, they look look compelling. There’s like great symmetry or something, and you’re kind of captivated by them, even though on the inside there’s nothing going on! (laughter) Know what I mean? There are people like that, and as long as they sound good, and can link sentences together without stumbling --

Would you like to describe which people we’re talking about here? Yeah, which actors… (laughter)

Almost all of ‘em (laughter). Almost all of ‘em. No.

(Laughs)

Truly, I mean there are actors that there’s not anything, there’s nothing going on (laughs). I’ve met some of ‘em (laughs), I’m like, “Wow! There’s fucking nothing going on there!” (more laughter) But I certainly wouldn’t say, I probably… I don’t know. But yeah, the physical transformation is a big part of it, like, you know, it’s my vehicle. It’s my body that I’m inside of, and it can't not affect the way that people perceive you and the way that you perceive yourself. Yeah.

In going through the art room and getting sort of a rough idea of this hero’s journey - and by the way the art’s freakin’ awesome --

Oh, amazing. So cool. I know, man.

Official Guardians of the Galaxy Set Photo - Star-Lord in Temple

But when the audience and us first meet the Peter Quill character when he’s older and in space, what are his goals? What is he up to before he meets the Guardians?

Well, he is on a quest to escape, essentially. But in the same way that a lot of people are on Earth. Like, he, you know, he’s got like a hope to him, the kind of hope that you have when you buy a lottery ticket. He thinks that if he could just make that score, everything will be fine and everything will be taken care of. And I think he learns through the course of the movie that that’s not ultimately where you find true satisfaction with yourself or real happiness. It’s really gonna come from doing something bigger than yourself and giving yourself up to something that’s bigger than yourself. So we find him in a hopeful, playful place where -- and he’s sort of escaping and a little bit on the run.

Both you and James are very funny guys. How important is comedy to telling the story of the Guardians of the Galaxy?

Oh, super important. I think comedy is very, very important, especially in this film. I mean, if we pull this off right, it's going to be hard for other movies to come out that are like this. They're going to seem pretty unfunny compared to our movie, I think. James is really, really funny. It's really rare that someone makes me consistently laugh out loud, and he really does. We have similar senses of humor, and a really great relationship and banter on set that probably could be seen as inappropriate, but it's really keeping us both sane. This is ultimately his movie and his voice, and you'll definitely see that humor through the course of this movie. And I think it is important and key to making this movie work, because it's not just a straight action-adventure type of movie. I think all the best big adventure movies have comedy, like all the 'Indiana Jones' movies and like a 'Romancing the Stone'. Any type of movie where you have an adventure, potential budding sexual chemistry and humor all together, it really works.

Do you get to improv, do you get to riff on a movie this big?

You know, no, not really. This is not the place for that, I don't think (laughs). I do, though. I do sometimes (laughs). It is probably not something I should be doing. But I sometimes can't help it. I know a little bit of that stuff might make it in. And there's a difference between improving and saying the words without using those words. As long as you're saying the same thing, you can kind of put it in your own words if that makes it more natural than that can make it a little better. I've been trying pretty hard to just stick to the lines, because you don’t want to blow a three-hundred thousand dollar crane, dolly or helicopter shot or something (laughs) because you wanted to poke a little fun and they're like, 'What are you doing? Noooooo! It's going to take us like five hours to reset this shot.' There's room for that in some of the scenes, but for the most part not a lot.

Official Guardians of the Galaxy Set Photo - Director James Gunn
Director James Gunn

Director James Gunn

How many of the comics did you read to prepare and what was something you saw in the "Guardians" comics where you say, 'OK, I need to have this in the movie.'

Well, when I first talked with James here I had some read of the newest, the [Brian Michael] Bendis stuff, the very newest stuff. And I talked to James and I was like, "What do you think?" And he was like, "Don't read any more. I don't want you to read any."' He was like, Abnett and Andy Lanning if I want, if I felt I had to read something, we'd be closest to that. But he was like, "Don't, because we're not recreating the comic books." We're essentially just another delivery system for Marvel material. We're not necessarily making a movie based on those comic books. We're just telling more superhero/Guardians of the Galaxy stories, just using a different medium. It would be like if someone else was going to release another Guardians of the Galaxy comic book, you wouldn't necessarily need to go through and read all the previous comic books and pick and choose what you want to use. You want to do your own thing. So I think that's kind of what we're doing. The name and the title and the characters are from different incarnations of the "Guardians of the Galaxy," but this is its own thing. James told me to kind of steer clear of that. He probably just wanted me to treat his script like the Holy Bible. And so I sort of have.

From when you first got the script to what you're filming now, how much changed along the way?

Not very much. Not very much outside of 10, 15 percent. It was pretty solid going in. We rehearsed, had conversations and brought up any concerns we had and so there were changes that were made. That's just the whittling down process. It always happens. It's always an evolution. But for the most part, it was pretty damn good to begin with. It was pretty good. It wasn't one of those situations where you come in and think. "Wow, this doesn't work. How are we going to be that figured out?" You like, "Wow, that stuff all really works, but what about this?" Maybe like trying to just sharpen it with very fine touches. But it was pretty sharp to begin with.

Thank you.

Thanks dudes!

Be sure to check out the official Guardians of the Galaxy Facebook page on Monday, May 19, 2014 at 10:00am PST for a live Q&A with the cast of the film. You'll be able to submit your own questions around that time and at 10:30, the second full-length trailer will be released! Find out what the new trailer may show here.

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More: Marvel Plans Ahead All The Way To 2028

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Guardians of the Galaxy is directed by James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Nova Prime Rael and Benicio Del Toro as The Collector.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens August 1, 2014The Avengers: Age of Ultron on May 1, 2015, Ant-Man on July 17, 2015, Captain America 3 on May 6 2016, and unannounced films for July 8 2016 and May 5 2017.

Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes for your Marvel movie and TV news!