Actor Chris Pratt Vows To Stay Fit After Weight Gain Led To Impotence, Depression
In the July issue of Men's Health, Hollywood's new It Guy Chris Pratt reveals he's finally done with weight gain, swearing off his signature "Dad Bod" for good. The Dad Bod, as MSN describes, refers to men with "a cuddly torso and gentle paunch."
Pratt, who's summer blockbuster Jurassic World premieres June 12, admitted his fluctuating weight was initially a career choice. After being cast as the lovable, chubby Andy Dwyer in NBC's Parks and Recreation, he "wanted to get fatter for the role." He announced it to the whole cast and eventually, it became a game: how fat could Pratt get, and how fast.
"I would eat four burgers at every read," the actor told Men's Health. "I became really fat and got up to almost 300 pounds. I saw myself in an episode, and in the matter of two moments very close together, I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm getting fat.' And then almost immediately I did something else and I thought, 'Holy crap, I've never seen myself funnier.' And I put the two together.”
In addition to humor, Pratt associated his weight with spousal connection. Once he and wife Anna Faris became foodies, the two were "drinking a lot of wine and having fun;” he couldn't help himself from overeating.
“I was her little Hansel out in the woods and she was fattening me up to put me in the fire," he added. "It was like Momma Bear and Papa Bear. She would eat a little bit, I would eat all of mine and the rest of hers.”
But all of that changed once Pratt began to realize how his weight impacted his health, and other, more fun aspects of his marriage. He explains to the magazine his increasing weight left him “impotent, fatigued, and emotionally depressed." Suddenly, he had real, major, and unfunny health issues. Pratt decided to get in shape, again.
For three of his movies, Zero Dark Thirty, Moneyball, and the very successful Guardians of the Galaxy, Pratt underwent a huge transformation, cutting back on the cheeseburgers and hitting the gym. Looking back on these transformations when faced with poor health and depression, Pratt vowed to get in shape one final time; “I'm never going to be fat again," he said.
Even though Pratt says “mealtimes are sometimes lame," he's been feeling great since making this healthy vow. We can only assume this means the actor's gotten a handle on all previous health issues.