Chris Pratt

It seems the actor is becoming a regular in movies set in space. Here Chris talks about his new film, working with JLaw and faking zero gravity.

IN HIS new movie, the sci-fi romance Passengers, the 37-year-old actor stars alongside Jennifer Lawrence (26). They play travellers who find themselves alone on a spaceship when their hibernation pods wake them 90 years before they reach their destination. They can’t deny their mutual attraction as they try to figure out what went wrong and contemplate the possibility of never seeing another human being in their lifetime.

The movie also stars Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia.

The movie has been creating quite a buzz. What was your reaction when you first read the script? 

Sometimes you read a script and it just grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go. I was never going to let anyone else play Jim. It was mine. The minute I read it, I wanted it.

Why did it grab you in that way?

It’s an epic in that it really has everything in one movie – adventure, romance, a thriller and it’s emotionally resonant. There are great moments of humour and spectacle all wrapped up in one movie. I love the script. I think it’s really good. Usually there’s at least a few things that stand out that you want to have a conversation about, but with this my only note was, “I’ll do it – but don’t change anything.”

Tell us about your character in Passengers. 

I play Jim Preston, who’s a mechanical engineer. This story takes place in the near to distant future and Jim is a bit of a throwback to the way men used to be. He’s very much a working class guy. He’s a passenger on The Avalon, which is a spaceship that travels to faraway colony planets and populates them – not that there’s anything wrong with Earth other than it’s overcrowded.

So he’s a very practical guy?