Chris Pratt van life — Chris Pratt was down to his last $60 and sleeping in a van in Hawaii when a chance encounter at a restaurant changed his trajectory. The actor, now 47, recounted the pre-fame period in an Instagram post that included a throwback from his first film, Cursed Part 3. At the time, he was waiting tables at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and had no acting credits to his name.
A Director Walks In
The turning point arrived when director Rae Dawn Chong visited the restaurant. Pratt recognized her and approached her table, according to his account. Their conversation led to a question about whether he could act, and Pratt responded with enthusiastic confidence. Chong asked for his phone number, but Pratt did not have a phone of his own, so he passed along a friend’s number instead.
Days later, the call came. Pratt picked up the script for Cursed Part 3 and read all 120 pages three times in succession. It was the first screenplay he had ever read. His character was named Devon, a detail that struck him as a good sign at the time.
From Shrimp Restaurant to Los Angeles
Pratt memorized the script before his audition and was offered the role. Chong told him production would take place in Los Angeles. At that point, his possessions amounted to about $60, a bag of clothes, and a pair of rollerblades. When Chong informed him that the production would fly him out, Pratt saw it as the moment his life changed and his acting career began.
He described Cursed Part 3 as a low-budget horror comedy that opened the door to Hollywood. In his post, he expressed lasting gratitude to Chong for taking a chance on someone working at a shrimp restaurant, adding that everyone starts somewhere.
What Came After
Pratt went on to major roles, including Peter Quill in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation, and Owen in Jurassic Park. His estimated net worth now stands at $100 million, a stark contrast to the $60 he had when he landed his first part.
Off screen, Pratt and his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, have built a substantial real estate portfolio. In 2023, they bought a $12.5 million home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, which is undergoing renovations. They are currently living in a $9 million mansion in Montecito, in Santa Barbara County.
The couple also recently listed their third mansion, in Pacific Palisades, for $19.99 million as of August. It marked the fifth time in three years they had put the property on the market. They originally purchased it for $15.8 million in 2018, tore it down, and custom built a new home before first listing it for $32 million in 2023.
Pratt and Schwarzenegger, 36, married in 2019 and share three children: Lyla Maria, 6, Eloise Christina, 4, and Ford Fitzgerald, 1. Pratt also has a 14-year-old son, Jack, with his ex-wife Anna Faris.
