Hasty Pudding's Man of the Year: Chris Pratt

“I wake up thinking [I’ll give a lap dance] most mornings, and today, it was finally fulfilled,” actor Chris Pratt said at a press conference last Friday after receiving his Pudding Pot from the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. Moments earlier, the actor had performed a lap dance on stage during his roast. At another point in the roast, he sang “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with modified lyrics to befit his alien duet partner (played by Joshuah B. Campbell ’16). He cut chopped pieces of wood in response to challenges made by a karate man (played by Sam B. Clark ’15) and Ron Swanson (played by Paris K. Ellsworth ’15). He even listened to digs at his career, marriage, and supposed method acting by Hasty Pudding co-producers Zoe B. Rosenthal ’16 and Joshua J. Friedman ’16.

Afterward he sat in front of photographers and reporters, speaking into a microphone, the shutter sounds of cameras competing with his voice. While the atmosphere was formal, Pratt infused the conversation with playful humor and geniality. “The whole thing was a blast and a riot. These guys [in the Hasty Pudding] are hilarious,” he said of the lap dance. This year’s recipient of the Pudding’s Man of the Year Award, Pratt is well known for his work as Andy Dwyer in television comedy “Parks and Recreation,” but only recently did he achieve renown as a Hollywood heavyweight. After headlining two of the highest grossing blockbusters of 2014—“Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Lego Movie”—the actor landed a lead role in the upcoming “Jurassic World” and is rumored to be replacing Harrison Ford in the next installment of the “Indiana Jones” franchise.

While acting is Pratt’s forte, the first topic of discussion at the conference was not art. Instead, the Super Bowl and Pratt’s lost wager with fellow actor Chris Evans (each actor promised to visit a hospital of the other’s choice if his Super Bowl team lost) found the spotlight. Rather than focusing on his loss, Pratt found humor in the situation by referencing Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s controversial comment that his faith gave the team a win over Green Bay. “I believe in God, and I think that He’s not in the business of proving that He’s real. And if the Seahawks were to win the Super Bowl, everyone would know for sure that there is a God…. Life would be meaningless,” he said, to erupting laughter among the crowd of reporters.

Pratt soon turned to talking about his acting. Regarding his work on “Parks and Recreation,” he discussed the improvisational comedy prevalent in the show’s script. Pratt said his favorite improvised joke occurs in third season episode “Flu Season”: after trying to understand the root of Amy Poehler’s character’s sickness, Pratt’s character says, “Hey Leslie, I typed your symptoms into the thing up here, and it says you could have network connectivity problems.” His work with CGI characters, both in “Guardians of the Galaxy” and in “Jurassic World,” also received attention. For Pratt, working with major CGI characters was not unlike working with people, especially if the film has an adept director. “When I was talking to Rocket or Groot, I was talking to a real actor. I was crouched down. I was having a real interaction any time that I could,” he said.

While Pratt could neither confirm nor deny the rumors related to Indiana Jones, he affirmed that, while he loved the franchise, he would make any film decisions carefully. “Just like anything I’ve been a part of...I wouldn’t be comfortable signing onto it unless I felt like I was going to do the franchise justice,” he said. Pratt’s future plans are not restricted solely to films and television, however. He hopes to use his recent successes as a means of giving back to the community and helping children—a plan that he is already fulfilling with his recent visit to Christopher’s Haven, a Boston hospital and home for children with cancer. The consequence of Pratt’s losing bet with Evans, the experience was rewarding for Pratt. He said he planned to continue visiting other hospitals, including the Seattle Children’s Hospital with Evans.

As Pratt gave advice for aspiring young actors, he stressed the importance of believing in yourself, even more than having a desire to achieve the dream. That way, he explained, you would be persistent despite barriers to your success. Coming from the man who faced many failures to achieve his current stardom—he had read for the lead roles in “Star Trek” and “Avatar” but did not get either part—the advice was poignant. “You need to rely on your belief that what you’re doing is what you’re supposed to be doing,” he said. And as he posed for the photographers, lips kissing the Pudding Pot, it was apparent that his belief had truly taken him far.